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2009-03-29 BACK
One More Time (AGAIN): How Do You Motivate Employees?
One More Time (AGAIN): How Do You Motivate Employees? This article originally appeared in the Texarkana Gazette on March 29, 2009 Dr. James Harbin, Professor of Management, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, College of Business Over 40 years ago, Fredrick Herzberg published what became a classic article in the Harvard Business Review with the above title (minus the AGAIN). Today, after decades of even more research, we don't have a definite answer to that question. His theory, simply stated, was that there are things that motivate and things that serve to de-motivate employees. For the motivators to work, one had to eliminate or at least minimize the de-motivators first. I would like to readdress that assumption taking into consideration that times have changed and the workforce demographics have changed. Probably the number one question I get from my clients and the many students of mine who are already managers is: "How do I motivate the $7-10 hour employee who is often a part-timer receiving little or no benefits?" These entry-level, low-wage job earners present a particularly difficult challenge for their supervisors and the organizations they work for. Approximately 25% of all hourly wage earners in the U.S. earn less than $10 hour. The average salary for U.S. service workers is $11 and change. It is also estimated that 60% of all new jobs in America will be low wage jobs. All of the above stats are probably conservative given that they were pre-2008/09 meltdown. Big motivators in the past for this group of employees were things like: instead of being paid $9 hour, they had many opportunities to make double that amount; the benefits were there; and there was a sense of job security. So even though it wasn't the best of jobs, it was one that most would not have easily given up and most would have given it their best effort. Some might ask why be concerned with this issue? They ought to be glad they have a job, right? But do you really want an unhappy, dissatisfied, demoralized, unenthusiastic front-line employee? If you have the reverse of that, you have one that is committed, works harder, stays longer, and produces more. Research after research says that groups perform better when that group stays intact, rather than having excessive turnover. Stated another way, a team of average players who play together over time will win more ball games, than a team with a bunch of superstars coming and going. This has been proved in sports, the military, the medical field, the airline industry, and the education arena to name just a few examples. Admittedly, times are tough, and tough times call for drastic actions. As one example of how tough times are: Toyota recently announced both cuts in jobs and executive salaries. But many companies have been too quick to pull the trigger on cost cuts in the form of cutting wages, cuttings jobs, and outsourcing positions. I don't have space in this article for all the do's and don'ts of motivation. So I will limit my remarks to just some of the do not's, the de-motivators. Circuit City learned the hard way that maybe cutting wages is not the best strategy. In 2005, they decided that their commission sales force was making too much money. They felt that their operations would be better served with hourly workers. Then in 2007, as part of their continuing "wage management" effort, they gave the pink slip to 3500 workers because they were making well above the market rate. These 3500 employees were told in their termination notice that they could reapply for their jobs after 10 weeks at the market rate of $8-10 hour. You think maybe there is a "connect the dots" here between that and their bankruptcy? I don't think in the 13 years I have followed Fortune magazine's annual list of the 100 best companies to work for there has ever been one to make that list that practiced a low wage strategy. Are your company supervisors guilty of demoralizing, demeaning remarks and bullying behavior? Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap, past CEO of Scott Paper once told an employee who had just proudly remarked to him that he had worked for Scott for 30 years, asked him in reply, "why would you want to work for the same company for 30 years?" He was also famous for his remark that "if you wanted respect – get a dog." "Nuclear" Jack Welsh of GE fame, known for his "rank and yank" philosophy and as someone who terrorized his subordinates, once remarked "loyalty to a company – it's nonsense." This type of behaviors and remarks are played over and over in the minds of those hearing and experiencing it. People come to work not just for the money and benefits, but also for dignity and respect. Does your company put so much pressure on its managers to curtail overtime pay, that they have to get their workers to work off the clock? Is yours a company that demands open availability of your hourly employees? Where they have to make themselves available for work any time of the day or night? They have no idea what their schedule is going to be day to day, much less week to week. Does your company practice a "one sick child away from being fired" policy? Three-fourths of low wage workers do not receive sick days. Are you like the Fortune 500 company that continued to work their employees in unsafe, life-threatening conditions, and later admitted in court that they did so "because they saved a lot of money that way!" Why do companies continue to dish out the de-motivators mentioned above? How many workers are really going to complain? They need the job too bad. Who has the money and time for legal counsel? Even if they do, and did, and the company lost in court, what's the penalty? The penalty for falsifying wage documents is $1000; in some states the fine is just 25% of the amount cheated. Not to be too negative, there are a lot of companies out there doing the right thing. There's a great example involving one of the last remaining shoe manufacturers in the U.S. who refused to take his operation offshore, even though the owner's profits could easily triple. He chose to keep those 700 factory jobs in America so they could support those 700 families in Wisconsin. If you have never had the opportunity to experience the trials and tribulations of those workers trying to live on $10 or less an hour let me suggest two books. One is Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, and the other is The Big Squeeze: Tough Times of American Families. I will leave you with two thoughts. The first thought is that there is no such thing as an "unskilled job." The second is that some of the world's greatest philanthropists are those that work for low wages. So the next time you see that worker across the counter, the one that picks up your garbage, the one that cleans your hotel room, the one that mows your grass, or any one of the other 30 million Americans making less than $10 hour, remember to say thank you. Dr. Harbin can be reached at james.harbin@tamut.edu.
TOP
One More Time (AGAIN): How Do You Motivate Employees?
One More Time (AGAIN): How Do You Motivate Employees? This article originally appeared in the Texarkana Gazette on March 29, 2009 Dr. James Harbin, Professor of Management, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, College of Business Over 40 years ago, Fredrick Herzberg published what became a classic article in the Harvard Business Review with the above title (minus the AGAIN). Today, after decades of even more research, we don't have a definite answer to that question. His theory, simply stated, was that there are things that motivate and things that serve to de-motivate employees. For the motivators to work, one had to eliminate or at least minimize the de-motivators first. I would like to readdress that assumption taking into consideration that times have changed and the workforce demographics have changed. Probably the number one question I get from my clients and the many students of mine who are already managers is: "How do I motivate the $7-10 hour employee who is often a part-timer receiving little or no benefits?" These entry-level, low-wage job earners present a particularly difficult challenge for their supervisors and the organizations they work for. Approximately 25% of all hourly wage earners in the U.S. earn less than $10 hour. The average salary for U.S. service workers is $11 and change. It is also estimated that 60% of all new jobs in America will be low wage jobs. All of the above stats are probably conservative given that they were pre-2008/09 meltdown. Big motivators in the past for this group of employees were things like: instead of being paid $9 hour, they had many opportunities to make double that amount; the benefits were there; and there was a sense of job security. So even though it wasn't the best of jobs, it was one that most would not have easily given up and most would have given it their best effort. Some might ask why be concerned with this issue? They ought to be glad they have a job, right? But do you really want an unhappy, dissatisfied, demoralized, unenthusiastic front-line employee? If you have the reverse of that, you have one that is committed, works harder, stays longer, and produces more. Research after research says that groups perform better when that group stays intact, rather than having excessive turnover. Stated another way, a team of average players who play together over time will win more ball games, than a team with a bunch of superstars coming and going. This has been proved in sports, the military, the medical field, the airline industry, and the education arena to name just a few examples. Admittedly, times are tough, and tough times call for drastic actions. As one example of how tough times are: Toyota recently announced both cuts in jobs and executive salaries. But many companies have been too quick to pull the trigger on cost cuts in the form of cutting wages, cuttings jobs, and outsourcing positions. I don't have space in this article for all the do's and don'ts of motivation. So I will limit my remarks to just some of the do not's, the de-motivators. Circuit City learned the hard way that maybe cutting wages is not the best strategy. In 2005, they decided that their commission sales force was making too much money. They felt that their operations would be better served with hourly workers. Then in 2007, as part of their continuing "wage management" effort, they gave the pink slip to 3500 workers because they were making well above the market rate. These 3500 employees were told in their termination notice that they could reapply for their jobs after 10 weeks at the market rate of $8-10 hour. You think maybe there is a "connect the dots" here between that and their bankruptcy? I don't think in the 13 years I have followed Fortune magazine's annual list of the 100 best companies to work for there has ever been one to make that list that practiced a low wage strategy. Are your company supervisors guilty of demoralizing, demeaning remarks and bullying behavior? Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap, past CEO of Scott Paper once told an employee who had just proudly remarked to him that he had worked for Scott for 30 years, asked him in reply, "why would you want to work for the same company for 30 years?" He was also famous for his remark that "if you wanted respect – get a dog." "Nuclear" Jack Welsh of GE fame, known for his "rank and yank" philosophy and as someone who terrorized his subordinates, once remarked "loyalty to a company – it's nonsense." This type of behaviors and remarks are played over and over in the minds of those hearing and experiencing it. People come to work not just for the money and benefits, but also for dignity and respect. Does your company put so much pressure on its managers to curtail overtime pay, that they have to get their workers to work off the clock? Is yours a company that demands open availability of your hourly employees? Where they have to make themselves available for work any time of the day or night? They have no idea what their schedule is going to be day to day, much less week to week. Does your company practice a "one sick child away from being fired" policy? Three-fourths of low wage workers do not receive sick days. Are you like the Fortune 500 company that continued to work their employees in unsafe, life-threatening conditions, and later admitted in court that they did so "because they saved a lot of money that way!" Why do companies continue to dish out the de-motivators mentioned above? How many workers are really going to complain? They need the job too bad. Who has the money and time for legal counsel? Even if they do, and did, and the company lost in court, what's the penalty? The penalty for falsifying wage documents is $1000; in some states the fine is just 25% of the amount cheated. Not to be too negative, there are a lot of companies out there doing the right thing. There's a great example involving one of the last remaining shoe manufacturers in the U.S. who refused to take his operation offshore, even though the owner's profits could easily triple. He chose to keep those 700 factory jobs in America so they could support those 700 families in Wisconsin. If you have never had the opportunity to experience the trials and tribulations of those workers trying to live on $10 or less an hour let me suggest two books. One is Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, and the other is The Big Squeeze: Tough Times of American Families. I will leave you with two thoughts. The first thought is that there is no such thing as an "unskilled job." The second is that some of the world's greatest philanthropists are those that work for low wages. So the next time you see that worker across the counter, the one that picks up your garbage, the one that cleans your hotel room, the one that mows your grass, or any one of the other 30 million Americans making less than $10 hour, remember to say thank you. Dr. Harbin can be reached at james.harbin@tamut.edu.
TOP