Much has been written about what is the mystery of employee motivation.  What drives them?  A lot of surveys have purported that money does not drive people alone and for a time I believed this to be true, however the bottom line is that what people take home at the end of the week is of prime importance to meet their needs.

Some employees get up in the morning bursting with enthusiasm to get to work, excited and passionate about what they do.  Others groan, and force themselves to get to work at the "just a job" to earn money to pay the bills.  

The former group is driven by a variety of reasons:
 

• Challenge of achieving targets and goals
• Feeling important to their company's/employers success
• Passionate about their product or what they do
• Love the social interaction with the people they work with and their customers
• Problem solving
• Rewarded and results focused
• Feeling appreciated

However if employees are not being paid what they feel they are worth many of these drivers will cease to motivate them and they will soon leave to find higher paying roles. This is especially happening in the current low unemployment environment. Many of our skilled apparel industry people are changing companies for money alone and many of our apparel industry companies are saying to us "if they don't want the job because they are not passionate about the opportunity that we are giving them we don't want them" or "we don't want to pay them any more because we don't think the job is worth it".

The cost of recruiting and retraining is enormous compared to rewarding a good employee for the excellent job she/he is doing.

In an environment where there is a shortage of skill, this mentality is expensive for companies.  The cost of recruiting and retraining is enormous compared to rewarding a good employee for the excellent job she/he is doing.  We have known people to leave for another $2000 per year.  This is a small increase annually for a company to pay, however this amount may be important to the employee, in order to fulfill their needs – or in some cases in order to be able to survive day to day especially in an area where the living costs are high.  The employer also needs to take into account that work related costs such as clothing to wear to work, transport to and from work, time taken to prepare for work etc are resources that come directly from the employees salary.  In some cases where wages are low, but the employee requires a certain level of personal appearance to be maintained, this can be draining on an employees budget, taking into account the high cost of cosmetics and corporate quality clothing.  For some employees, leaving to find work elsewhere may be more a matter of survival and trying to reach a point where they are not continually struggling to exist, seemingly only for the purpose of work.  It has been widely reported that the financial rewards to businesses from the current booming economy are not trickling down to the employees as quickly as may be expected in such a climate.  Employees can quickly lose respect and the motivation to push themselves, if they know their employer can afford to but is unwilling for various reasons to pay them what they are worth.  It can also be frustrating when an employer gives positive feedback on an employee’s results but then does not follow through with promised financial rewards, leaving the employee unsure as to what other steps they can take, after they have already put in unpaid extra hours and given their best.  These and other factors can make the grass seem that much greener.  

For the employee, the tangible benefits of an increase in pay are not always paramount.  An increase in pay can be a boost for an employee, in terms of encouragement and morale, letting them know they are appreciated.  This in turn benefits the employer, as the employee receives a positive affirmation that they should continue to work hard as they will be rewarded in the end.  


The employee’s method of establishing that they are being underpaid may come from sources such as salary surveys or communication with peers in the market.  These will either be accurate or slightly off the mark, but it may be a good time for the employer to reassess their own ideas of what is a market value for an employee.  It is important to recognise the ‘high flyers’ from the mediocre employees and reward them based on performance and results, regardless of their age or other more traditional but largely irrelevant factors.  In the current employment market you will be out-bid if you are not willing to reward quality employees for loyalty and a job well done.  

Sometimes it is difficult to gauge the extent of an employee’s contribution until they are gone, especially in the age of emails and internet, where productivity is becoming harder to measure.  For employers who have been burned in the past by a disloyal employee it is important not to view all future employee’s with suspicion - chances are they will sense this and your relationship will be jeopardised.  To know where your employee is on a personal level as well as a professional level is imperative.  Employees work to the level of their personal needs.  Therefore to raise motivation in an employee is to encourage them to raise their expectations in their personal lives.

For some a pat on the back and encouraging words of a job well done is all it takes.

People's personalities play a big part in motivation.  What motivates one doesn't necessarily 'do it' for another.  For some a pat on the back and encouraging words of a job well done is all it takes. For another a three monthly performance review with clear key performance indicators and achievable outcomes linked with monetary rewards will power them ahead.

Many of our candidates complain how their employers lock them into their current roles because they are good at it.  They are constantly passed over from realising their potential and dreams because their employer will find it difficult to replace them in their current role. These employees give up asking, lose heart and motivation, see that they are at a dead end and look elsewhere.

Although it may not be ideal for business profitability, the reality is that the power has shifted from the employer to the employee in light of the recent trend in unemployment rates.  As an employer, you may need to reassess your traditional methods of evaluating an employee’s worth within your company.  If you are aware of an employee who is considering moving on primarily for financial reasons, you need to consider that there is going to be a cost to you in recruiting & training their replacement, plus possible lost revenue over this learning period.  Estimate what you think this inevitable cost would be (financially and socially) and ask yourself – would this inevitable expenditure be better spent on retaining your current staff member?  The conventional thinking of believing employees to be a readily replaceable resource is becoming less and less feasible.  

Don't wait until the 'horse has bolted' and you are faced with a vacancy to fill.  The time and cost of retraining combined with loss of productivity can be minimised with effective and regular communication with your staff members.  Ask the questions.  Know your employees.  What are their dreams, what motivates them and what drives them both professionally and personally?  It is likely to be a fulfilling assignment both emotionally and financially.