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In today's workplace, employees demand more than just extrinsic rewards such as pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses and the like. Learn about the four intrinsic rewards that make work energizing and fulfilling for today's employees.
What Kind of Employees Do You Need?
Ten out of ten times when I ask a team leader, what kind of employees do you need, I hear descriptions like people who are go-getters, self-starters, innovators, motivated, passionate, take responsibility, think on own feet, willing to change, exercise good judgment, problem solvers…to name a few on the wish list. Who wouldn't want all these valuable attributes?
When I ask the team leader what kinds of things do you do to motivate your employees, I often hear about pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses …extrinsic rewards. While these kinds of rewards can be effective in attracting talent and driving compliance - solely following directions, they are less effective in getting employees to engage their minds and to take ownership in adding value to what they do.
When a work environment in a dental office is built solely on extrinsic rewards, you will see employees become very activity-driven, focusing only on the tasks at hand that need to be performed on each patient.
If you want employees to work smarter, exercise judgment, and take responsibility they need to "feel good" about themselves and their work. Yes, contrary to traditional belief, emotions are a terrific thing to value! People get their energy level and their commitment to work from the rewards they experience from the work itself on a day to day basis.
When the work environment in a dental office has intrinsic rewards built within, employees understand the purpose of their roles, and they ensure all patients have a comfortable, safe and enjoyable experience…so they will want to come again. They will perform all the same tasks as performed when an employee is activity driven, but they will do them keeping in mind the purpose of what they are trying to accomplish.
Employees become engaged and accept accountability when they feel the work they are doing is worthwhile, when they are able to do something the way they think it should be done, when they are able to perform their job well and when they are able to experience a great sense of accomplishment. Kenneth W. Thomas and Walther G. Tymon, describe these "emotional charges" as intrinsic rewards that increase motivation.1
Four Primary Intrinsic Rewards that Increase Motivation
Studies have shown there are four primary intrinsic rewards that make work energizing and fulfilling for today's employees. Employees need a sense of meaningfulness, sense of choice, sense of competence and sense of progress. I have outlined a description of each intrinsic reward and identified action steps that can be taken to implement these rewards in dental offices today.
Sense of Meaningfulness: what you are doing is worth your time and energy and your position is a significant role within the office.
Action Steps:
- Work with employees to identify the purpose of their roles and how they align with the team vision.
- Ensure team vision is something everyone can get excited about.
- Discuss with each employee what it is h/she is passionate about by asking them to identify the times h/she has felt energized and fulfilled at work.
- Use the common threads identified by each employee to establish a team vision.
Meaningfulness is about the passion attached to the vision.
Sense of Choice: the opportunity of being able to choose-use own judgment and perform in ways that seem appropriate to you.
Action Steps:
Create opportunities for employees to have more say about how their job is done and to participate in problem solving and decision making.
As a practical matter, Peter Block notes, employees do not always agree with the team leader's suggestions, but the team leader retains "51 percent" of the votes when there is disagreement on an important issue.2 What is critical is the process used in reaching the final decision and how employees feel about the whole decision making process. - Recognize the value of allowing employees to be active participants in the decision making process and encourage them to provide 49 percent of the input when making the final decision.
- Trust your people…believe in them, make sure they have the information required in order for them to be successful.
- Treat honest mistakes as learning opportunities.
Choice is about knowing your opinions and feedback matter so you will want to take the initiative to change, innovate and solve problems.
Sense of Competence: the sense of pride that you are performing well and doing high-quality work.
Action Steps:
- Identify development needs and appropriate training opportunities.
- Coach employees to make them feel good about who they are as a person.
- Seek out opportunities to provide positive feedback.
- Give employees the opportunity to set the standards of what they believe they can achieve.
Research shows employees will set standards high, but if someone else sets them, they will be perceived unfair. Competence is about being a go-getter who exercises good judgment in order to meet or exceed their own performance expectations.
Sense of Progress: the satisfaction you feel that you are really accomplishing something.
Action Steps:
- Monitor progress against the standards set.
- Provide encouragement and opportunities to celebrate successes.
- Establish milestones on the way to achieving overall goals.
- Build a work environment where employees support each other on the team and their own individual progress.
Progress is about having the motivation and responsibility to be part of a successful endeavor and winning team that supports one another.
Have Extrinsic Rewards Become Unimportant?
Absolutely not. They are still very important. Employees will focus on extrinsic rewards when they are short on funds, when issues arise they are uncomfortable with or when they are faced with major choices, but they fade into the background the rest of the time.
Pay increases, bonuses, incentives, awards, recognition plans etc., need to be used in conjunction with fostering pride in one's work, a sense of achievement, a sense of skill, enjoying the challenge of a project and feeling worthwhile or valued. You can no longer focus on just winning the race for the reward. Over the long run, people need intrinsic rewards to keep them motivated to perform at the top of their game. Despite one's best intentions, you can only hang in there for so long, if you don't enjoy the journey.
Reference
1 Kenneth W. Thomas and Walter G. Tymon Jr., Empowerment Inventory (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1993) p. 9
2 Peter Block, Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1994) p. 30
Mary Holevas is a leadership and team development specialist who brings energy and enthusiasm to the workplace by giving team members a means by which to keep energized and motivated at work. She is the founder of Cornerstones of Leadership, an executive development company that specializes in proven leadership techniques that bring the best out of people. Mary has worked with Fortune 500 corporations to small companies, inspiring teams to unleash their hidden potential by creating a work environment that ignites passion, greater commitment and accountability. She is a dynamic and entertaining speaker who brings a unique insight from serving years in senior management in "Corporate America", business consultant with a connection to the dental industry. To learn more about her services, call 800-461-0643 or e-mail: MaryHolevas@CornerstonesofLeadership.com. You can visit Cornerstones of Leadership's Web site at www.cornerstonesofleadership.com.
©2006 Cornerstones of Leadership LLC. All rights reserved.
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