Fear or Opportunity? What Motivates Employees?

Does your company have frequent employee turnover, or do employees tend to stay with your company for years? Do your employees support each other and think of themselves as a team, or do they backbite and claim credit for successes at the expense of others? The answers to these questions can determine if fear or opportunity motivates your employees.

The basis for employee motivation falls into two categories:

• Anticipation of reward for work done well (advancement within the company, financial bonus or reward, recognition by management, perks, etc.)
• Fear of discipline for mistakes or work done poorly (demotion or being let go, reduction of salary, loss of status, public chastisement, etc.).

Most small-business owners feel that their employees are motivated by a blend of the above, but the truth is that motivation at most companies falls primarily into one category or the other.

Motivating employees by instilling a culture that emphasizes anticipation of reward has numerous advantages. When encouraged to perform well based on the opportunity to advance and receive recognition and financial reward, employees develop loyalty and personal commitment to their work. The ideal for every small-business owner is to encourage employees to think of themselves as having a vested interest in the company’s success. This can be achieved only by motivating employees in a positive way. Knowing that individual and group efforts will be rewarded produces a close-knit staff that acts as a team.

Motivating employees by fear has few advantages, to be fair; some companies function well and achieve a degree of success by doing so. These companies usually moderate the fear factor by offering advancement and financial reward to a few extremely hard-working employees and holding them up as models, while letting it be known that employees who do not meet such high standards will be let go or demoted. The obvious disadvantages of motivating by fear include lack of teamwork, employee backbiting and no long-term motivation.

Opportunity-based motivation can be achieved by:

1. Consistency in rewarding and promoting employees. When employees know their efforts will be recognized, they’ll put forth the extra effort it takes for personal and company success.
2. Encouraging team effort. Never pitting one employee against another. Most times, the success of one individual is based on the behind-the-scenes work of others. Don’t overlook these efforts.
3. Emphasizing and recognizing personal and team initiative. Self-starters are the heart and soul of most successful small companies.
4. Using mistakes as learning opportunities, rather than “shout-fests” that damage self-esteem and discourage initiative.
5. Being consistent in goals and tasks. Give employees a clear direction. When you need them to change direction, explain the reasons clearly. Constantly changing employee directives is not only confusing but also disheartening.
6. Explaining the importance of each employee’s work. When employees understand why their daily tasks are critical to the company’s operations, they will feel more valuable, more a member of a team and more critical to the company’s success.
7. Going out of the way to praise. Don’t let the smallest opportunity go by. Encourage managers to look for the positives and praise it.
8. Refusing to allow managers to snoop into the activities of employees, private or job-related. Also, encouraging employees not to spy on each other and report to management.
9. Avoiding hard-to-reach sales quotas, with the results that some employees necessarily will be let go. This discourages team efforts and encourages some employees to take credit for the efforts of others.

Source: National Federation of Independent Businesses

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Digital marketing can feel overwhelming when you’re working with a limited budget. Websites, SEO, social media, and paid ads can quickly add up, but you don’t need to do everything to see results. By focusing on cost-effective strategies, you can still make a big impact without overspending.

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