According to a recent survey of 536 full- and part-time office workers by Accountemps, the thing (other than cash) that emplyees find most motivating is having their accomplishments at work recognized (see also earlier post on non-financial rewards). Coming in at a bit of a distant second, but definitely worth noting, is regular communication (see also earlier post on the strong connection between frequent communication and employee engagement).
A full listing of survey results, which reflect employee responses to the question "Other than financial rewards, which one of the following is the most effective means of motivating employees?", is shown below:
- Frequent recognition of accomplishments - 35%
- Regular communication with staff - 20%
- Giving employees increased responsibility - 17%
- Off-site team building and social events - 10%
- More time off/holidays/paid time off - 1%
- Flexible work schedule/flextime - 0%
- Something else - 5%
- None/nothing else (but cash) motivates - 1%
- Don't know - 11%
Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), says it well:
No amount of team-building events or other perks can compensate for a manager personally thanking employees for a job well done.
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Ann,
You are right on in making the connection between this list and employee engagement efforts. The first item on this list, frequent recognition, is among the 12 actions that Gallop recommends for engaging employees.
Posted by: Frank Giancola | February 13, 2007 at 11:50 AM
So true! Especially #1 about giving employees recognition. When I coach Managers on helping to motivate employees I often tell them "Be a bank...give credit...lots and lots of public credit." If done sincerely, it works! :-)
Posted by: Peggy Andrews | February 14, 2007 at 12:40 PM