Ashridge - Report - Motivation and Employee Engagement October2009 PDF

Ashridge Business School http://www.ashridge.org.
uk
Ashridge Business School http://www.ashridge.org.uk
Ashridge
Motivation and Employee Engagement in the 21
st
Century:
A Survey of Management Views

Motivation and Employee Engagement in the
21
st
Century:


By Viki Holton, Fiona Dent and Jan Rabbetts

September 2009
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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our
survey. We also are grateful to those who took part in the interviews
we conducted.

Ashridge

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the
purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of Ashridge.

25.00

ISBN: 978-0-903542-76-0

Ashridge
Berkhamsted
Hertfordshire
HP4 1NS
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1442 841172
Fax: +44 (0) 1442 841181

www.ashridge.org.uk

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Foreword

2009 saw the worst recession any of us can remember. The retail
sector, already an extremely competitive environment, has not been
immune to the economic conditions and several well known names
are no longer on the High Street. In these difficult times, it is vital
that organisations across every sector invest properly in motivation
and employee engagement.

Ashridge conducted this research to understand better the issues and
challenges concerning motivation. The findings indicate that, rather
like the traditional school report, many organisations could do
better.

In a recession some believe that people are lucky to have a job and
therefore organisations do not need to take extra steps to ensure
their employees are motivated. Others believe that the need to be
motivated only really applies to high flyers. I would take issue with
both of these positions.

Here at John Lewis motivation is a key performance indicator and we
believe it makes a huge difference to our results. The senior team are
very interested in whats happening across the organisation and
Partner (staff) surveys, introduced in 2003, mean that we know the
level of engagement for each shop, our distribution centres and our
Head Office as well as every department within these areas. I know
that the two shops I manage have some of the highest levels of staff
satisfaction in the Group. This gives me confidence that, with a high
level of engagement, we are more likely to give great service to our
customers and that, in turn, will lead to better sales and profit levels.

Even if an organisation does not recognise the importance of
motivation or measure it on a regular basis, time spent by managers
ensuring that employees are motivated and engaged with the
business will still have a positive effect on the all important bottom
line.

Mark Venables
Managing Director,
Southampton and Southsea Stores, the John Lewis
Partnership
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Contents

Section 1: Executive Summary .................................................... 1
Section 2: How Organisations Motivate Managers ........................... 8
Section 3: How Managers Motivate their Staff .............................. 16
Section 4: Conclusion and Recommendations .............................. 20
Appendix 1: Company Interviews ............................................... 26
1. Motivation A View from Engineering Consultancy Halcrow
Group ............................................................................... 26
2. Motivation: The Multinational View (High Technology Sector)
The manager, the employer and motivation .......................... 29
3. Motivation - The Senior Managers View (Voluntary Sector) ..... 31
4. A View from the Leisure Sector Recruiting Motivated Staff .... 34

Appendix 2: Profile of Respondents ............................................ 36
The Last Word: What Managers say about Motivation ................ 37

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A Survey of Management Views 1

Section 1: Executive Summary

In 2008 Ashridge conducted research entitled the Ashridge
Management Index to understand more about the issues and
challenges facing managers. The survey covered a variety of key
topics including leadership, communication, learning and
development; it also provided some interesting data about personal
and organisational motivation. As a result of this research we felt
there would be value in looking more closely at motivation and
particular questions included:

Managers views about the current motivational approaches
offered by their employers, for example are organisations
using the right approach? And what are the key factors which
motivate managers?
Do managers find it easy to motivate their staff?
What are the implications of these findings for leaders, HR
directors and managers?

We distributed a survey questionnaire to some of those managers
involved in the earlier survey and also to a new group of individuals
attending Ashridge programmes during the first three months of
2009. As a result, a total of 210 managers responded to our survey.
In addition, we conducted a number of company interviews including
the engineering consultancy firm, Halcrow Group. See Appendix 1 for
these interviews.

The evidence of our survey confirms much of what we already know
about what motivates people but our findings indicate that many
employers get it wrong when it comes to managing motivation and
employee engagement.

Nearly half, 46 per cent, of managers in our survey say their
organisation does not take the right approach to motivating
them.

This means that only about half of managers surveyed are
positive about their employers, saying their organisation takes
the right approach to motivating them. Those working in the
private sector feel more positive 62 per cent of managers
say the approach is right compared to 46 per cent among
those in the public sector. Given how much is known about
motivation these seem relatively low figures.

When asked to describe what motivates them although
financial rewards are mentioned it is often the intrinsic
aspects of motivation which managers talk about. The desire
for autonomy and freedom in carrying out their work is a key
theme; having the freedom to take decisions, and having the
power and authority to deliver their task in the way that they
think is right, is important to them. Its also about being
trusted and given space to get on with the job without being
micro-managed.
Key Findings:
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Sharing the vision of the organisation is another theme thats
important in motivation, as one manager described their team
as one where we all know where we are trying to go.

What demotivates managers are often the opposite of the
issues noted above; lack of vision (by the organisation or by
the senior team) for example is mentioned by many. A
number of respondents describe a poor environment where
their organisation is doing little with regard to motivation. One
person said that acknowledgement for a job well done is often
missing.

The relationship between survey respondents and their staff
appears to be more positive and around seven in ten
respondents say that personally they find it easy to motivate
staff. As might be expected managers mostly use the same
techniques and approaches as those that they find motivating
themselves, such as providing freedom to help staff to develop
their role, involving them in decision-making and creating a
supportive environment where staff can develop and learn.

The fact that the relationship between the manager and their staff is
more positive than between the organisation and the manager seems
something of a paradox. Surely, if motivation is less than ideal
between employer and manager, then the same will be true for
managers and staff?

We know that motivation often tends to work well in personal
relationships and so this may partly explain the survey findings - that
the close working relationship between staff and their boss will be
more positive than what is often a more distant, more formal
relationship between the organisations and their managers.

Figure 1: Motivation: between the organisation and manager

54% 46%
Yes No
Nearly half, more than four in ten
respondents, say that their
organisation does not take the right
approach in order to motivate them

Figure 2: Motivation: between the manager and their staff

1212% 63% 23% 2%
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
The majority of managers, seven
in ten, say that it is easy to motivate
the staff that report to them

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The survey findings appear to indicate that the relationship between
people is more important from a motivational perspective than the
relationship between the organisation and its people. We would offer
the following practical model to help you assess your own motivation,
your organisations approach to motivation and how you can help
motivate others.

Figure 3: Motivational Framework

The framework above suggests that there are five inter linked aspects
of your working life that contribute to motivation.

The organisation will provide the structure and processes
for instance: performance management and reward schemes,
training, interesting work. However, these systems can
become overly relied on and turn into bureaucratic nightmares
that begin to demotivate. So, structures and processes in
themselves are not enough organisations do not motivate
people, its people in organisations that motivate people. So,
as our research shows organisations must be clear in terms of
vision, communication and decision making processes.
Leaders and managers must earn the respect of others, create
an appropriate working environment and provide opportunities
for people to grow and develop. Theres also the physical
working environment to be considered, and the reaction to
some recent innovations weve introduced horrible hot-
desking! Another said their organisation is not addressing
the structural problems which block effective working e.g. poor
IT, buildings, working practices such as too many meetings
and too little time for preparation, often too many key topics
on the agenda for solutions.

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The individual also needs to be clear in their own mind about
what it is that motivates them and how these needs can be
satisfied at work. Individuals need to be more open about this
and share their values with colleagues and with their boss.
Organisations need to help individuals take more responsibility
for this; and need a strategy and processes that make it very
clear that individuals have a responsibility for their own
development.
The boss provides a crucial role in the motivation process not
only acting as a role model but valuing each of his or her
colleagues in a way that makes them feel motivated. This
means that as a boss you need to take time to understand
each persons needs and what makes them tick. A simple
and useful starting point is to engage your people in a
conversation about their motivation. Simple really, but think
about how often do you do it?
In addition to the boss our colleagues can play a major role
in our levels of motivation at work. So being with like minded
people can energise and motivate us, several managers in our
survey emphasised this I personally get motivated by good
feedback from those I work with. The darker side of this is
where no collaboration or team spirit exists and can actually
cause demotivation colleagues who whinge and moan and
have a negative outlook.
Many of us are also motivated by feedback from our
customers (both internal and external) and clients. For
instance, do you (the organisation) regularly conduct customer
service reviews and share the results with staff? The issue
here is, is this left to chance or part of an organisational
process?

The purpose of this report is to show that motivation and employee
engagement are critical areas that can help organisations be more
effective. The recent MacLeod Review
1
on employee engagement
proposes a national campaign and this approach, led by role model
employers, could create a more positive environment. However,
response to the Review has been mixed and as well as the critics who
dont see a need for such action, others will question why another
national campaign is required when the UK already has a
well-established approach in the form of IIP, Investors in People
which has similar aims.

The key findings from our survey noted above indicate that there are
many managers, almost half of respondents, who say their
organisation does not take the right approach to motivate them. It is
a surprisingly high level of disagreement which also was found in

1
Engaging for Success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement. A
Government report by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, 2009.
www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/employee-engagement/index.html accessed
July 2009

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Investors in People
2
research where 1 in 3 employees (among a
larger sample group of around 2,900) reported feeling demotivated
at work.
Such problems with employee engagement seem to suggest two very
different types of employer, those who take motivation seriously and
those, for whatever reasons, who do not appreciate how important it
is or find it is too difficult to develop, or implement, a planned
approach. It could also be that such neglect is unintentional and that
HR practitioners and the senior business team are busy juggling too
many other initiatives. As one HR manager said, I havent really
spent much time thinking about the detail of motivation in our
organisation. It may well be that talent management programmes
and initiatives that do exist are not closely linked to business
strategy; a point made in a major study on talent management
conducted by Ashridge and CIM, the Chartered Institute of
Management
3
.

There are however some organisations where the role of HR is
currently being re-defined, moving away from administrative towards
a business partner role that would encompass motivation and talent
management. As the HR director of a major retailer where this
change has been made said,

previously there were no quality conversations about talent
HR was simply doing not thinking.

So much has been written and discussed in recent years about
motivation and phrases such as rewards and remuneration,
employee engagement, the war for talent, employer of choice
attracting and retaining the best, employer branding and talent
management appear frequently in the press. These issues have been
extensively researched and written about, for example, Ashridge
research
4
in the early 1990s on talent management and towards the
end of the decade McKinseys
5
report, which first coined the phrase
war for talent. These studies both argue for the need to make talent
management more organised and more strategic. Why then are so
many organisations apparently missing a trick when it comes to how
to motivate managers?

Organisations certainly need to pay more attention to motivation. We
know a good deal about what motivates and demotivates staff and it
is interesting to reflect on the comments by one manager who
describes his approach to staff is to be human and not a machine
manager. Is it perhaps that appraisals and performance reviews are
mostly administered by HR and may seem mechanistic and remote?
Does the senior team take enough responsibility to personally
motivate staff? It is interesting to observe the impact of a new chief
executive or senior manager who arrives with energy and interest in
good old-fashioned principles of how to motivate staff and find ways

2
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/MEDIARESEARCH/MEDIA/Pages/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?
PRID=47 accessed July 2009
3
Talent Management: Maximising Talent for Business Performance, by Eddie Blass,
2007, Chartered Management Institute and Ashridge Consulting
4
Managing Talent: Making the Best of the Best by Philip Sadler, 1993, Pitman
Publishing
5
The war for Talent by Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones and Beth Axelrod.
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to be sure they have their finger on the pulse of the business, and
what it is that will improve motivation levels. Invariably this creates
a buzz of interest and energy everywhere. A more negative
environment is summed up by two respondents,

I see that some managers dont listen, dont value what
people say in that they dismiss it out of hand people do talk
to me about these attitudes

there is a lack of true consultation from top leadership,
although this is expected further down the line. Decisions are
made by top management but without reference to those
managers like me who will be directly involved.

Another issue may be the impact of talent management initiatives.
While such schemes undoubtedly add value to the business they may
inadvertently create an exclusion zone, and that those who are not
on the fast-track may feel excluded and as a result feel less valued
and less engaged.

It is also worth considering inconsistencies for example between
values publicly stated and what staff actually experience,

although my organisation says it wants innovation, creativity
and to empower staff to manage it is not letting them do so

we ignore high levels of sickness absence; we do not address
poor levels of performance or lack of customer service
particularly with regard to internal customer service.

Another manager describes a negative management style where,

individuals flaunt their authority and talk down to/demoralise
people. There is also a lack of fairness in dealing with people
different strokes for different folks.

What then should employers do in order to attract and retain key
staff? Motivation is vital for business success and yet, as our survey
indicates, it is invariably a tough challenge to get it right. Recognising
and rewarding staff needs to take account of both financial and the
intrinsic, non-financial rewards. In this survey managers emphasise
how important non-financial aspects can be. My organisation would
achieve much more if it offered more non-cash benefits more
holidays, flexible working, etc. Another manager highlights an
environment where so-called bonuses are actually for relatively
small amounts of money and this therefore contributes to a negative,
demotivated atmosphere.

Company culture, the calibre of the leadership team, the relationship
with the boss, the level of support provided to managers and whether
the management style is one where thank you or thankless
prevails, are all issues likely to impact on motivation. There may also
be a certain amount of lethargy among employers with too much
reliance placed on annual or six monthly appraisal process. Motivation
needs to be a continual, rather than just a yearly, process. Certain
More than money:
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incentives introduced no doubt with the best of intentions can also
backfire, we use an employee of the month scheme. This means that
only one person can be good no matter how many have done great
things!

Some managers in the survey describe an environment where the
individual is expected to take responsibility for their own motivation
virtually a DIY, do-it-yourself, approach. Such a laissez-faire
approach is dangerous, and talented staff may be more easily
attracted by organisations which take motivation more seriously and
offer more transparent structures to help with career development
opportunities. A headline for recruitment at one major employer is,
we take your career as seriously as you do and this may seem more
attractive compared to an employer with little interest in such issues.

Organisations with a clear strategy and vision for motivation, talent
management and employee engagement are in our view more likely
to be successful. The wide-ranging review of current practice by
MacCleod and Clarke
1
quotes evidence from retailers Boots in the
Great Place to Work survey indicated that shops with the highest
engagement scores (72 per cent against 67 per cent) had lower
absence rates, lower turnover and a higher profit contribution.

In the rest of this report Sections 2 and 3 provide more details about
the themes of the survey noted above. Section 4 offers our conclusion
and some recommendations. Appendix 1 features four brief company
interviews including Halcrow, and a profile of the survey respondents
is shown in Appendix 2.

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Section 2: How Organisations Motivate Managers

During the earlier research we listed a number of key motivators
and asked respondents (c1400) to rank each of these in relation to
importance to themselves and also with regard to how their
organisation viewed them as motivators for employees. The following
table highlights the major responses:

Table 1: The 7 Key Factors for Motivation and Engagement

What
Managers
Want

Ranking
What
Organisations
Rely On

Ranking

1
29%

Challenging/interesting work

2
14%
2
11%
Opportunity to continually learn and
develop skills and knowledge
5
8%
3
10%
A high basic salary 6
7%
4
7%
Having the authority to run my own
show
15
3%
5
7%
Clear career advancement within
the organisation
8
4%
6
6%
Knowing my decisions have an
impact on the organisation
14
3%
7
5%
Performance related pay/incentive
schemes
1
18%

It is interesting to note the discrepancies between what managers
want and what they believe their organisations rely on. This
disconnect is one of the reasons we decided to explore this area in
further depth. It was of particular interest to us that while
performance related pay and incentive schemes had some motivating
effect on individuals, the majority believe that their organisation over
relied on these as key motivators when the basic salary was more
important to individuals (especially if it was felt to be a fair one).
However, that said both individuals and organisations seemed to
recognise the importance of providing challenging and interesting
work.

Yet as noted earlier, many organisations do not get it right when it
comes to motivating their managers. Why? A good starting place
perhaps is to consider what managers say demotivates them. There
are few surprises in the responses (shown in the box below) to this
question. Not being valued, and not being given feedback are definite
turn-offs. The quality of leadership also makes a difference. An
organisation with a poor leadership team is likely to be one with low
staff morale such as the situation described where acknowledgement
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of work is only being given to top managers. There is also a feeling
among some working in the public sector that more detailed fine-
tuning is required in order to get motivation right as one person said,

Id like an admission that trying to motivate people in public
service by copying fads from big business in the 90s hasnt
worked.

What does your organisation do to demotivate you?

Poor management/leadership, slow decision making, risk
aversion at the top
risk averse and will always err on side of caution, going back on
decisions, lack of leadership from immediate manager

Poor top managers and leaders
too many people who lack the skills to be top managers and
leaders, who avoid positive feedback in these litigious times

Not valued, lack of feedback
lack of acknowledgement/acknowledgement of wrong people, not
valuing what we do, not given feedback often.

So what needs to happen in order to create the right climate for
employee engagement? The quotes below indicate just how important
communication is and the need to empower individuals.

What does your organisation do to motivate you?

Autonomy, empowerment, trust and freedom
trust being shown in me to deliver important outcomes, freedom to
create

Shares the vision, values and beliefs; engaged
clear communicated picture of expectations of our division, clear
values which are shared

Involved, consulted and values my opinions
values my contributions, informs me and involves me, I can
suggest changes and be listened to

Pay and rewards
acceptable level of reward, salary (obviously!), a reasonable
financial package, an OK salary.

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Engaging staff in the vision of where the business is going and
valuing their opinion are key aspects of motivation. However, one
factor which may be relevant with regard to pay is about fairness, or
rather lack of fairness, in the widening gap between senior salaries
compared with average salaries. The data shown below highlights
some substantial differences. (Other sectors as well as financial could
be used to illustrate this e.g. the media coverage over the 50m pay-
out to Wendelin Wiedeking at Porsche.) In recent years there is also
evidence of a widening gap between the top and average salaries in
the UK public sector
6
.

Figure 4: Comparing Senior and Average Salaries in the
Finance Sector
Source: Critics Round on RBS Chiefs Deal: Stephen Hesters 10m package
puts pay back in spotlight by Philip Aldrick, Daily Telegraph 23.06.09

Employer:

RBS, Royal
Bank of
Scotland

HSBC

Barclays

Lloyds
Banking Group

CEO:

Stephen Hester

Michael Geoghegan

John Varley

Eric Daniels

Base Salary:

1.2m 1.07m 1.1m 1.035m
Maximum
Bonus:
2.4m
(2 times salary),
all in
subordinated
debt or shares

4.28m
(4 times salary),
40pc in shares
deferred for three
years

2.69m
(2 times
salary), 25pc in
shares
2.33m
(2 times salary)
Maximum
long-term
incentives:
6.4m
(as above) at
target share
price of 70p

7.48m
in share awards
5.8m
at 270p share
price (2.154m
share awards)

2.07m
(2 times salary)
Average
Salary:
18,979
(for lower paid
staff)
24,156
(for branch
manager)
16,500
(for general
Barclays
employee)
20-22K
(for technical
support specialist)

Additional
sources (for
average
salary):
www.rbs.com/m
edia.news/press-
releases/2009
Downloaded
9.07.09

www.glassdoor.com
Downloaded 9.07.09

Amicus
15 October 2007

www.glassdoor.com
Downloaded
9.07.09

6
Salary Council Chiefs face Sack, say the Tories by Michael Savage, The Independent,
3.08.09. Power and Pay: Public Sector Chief Executives Catch Up by Peter Edwards
and Heidi Blake, The Yorkshire Post, 16.06.09 www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/power-and-
pay/Power-and-pay-Public-sector.5368856.jp accessed August 2009. End Public Pay
Excess, say Tories, article on BBC Website,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7984608.stm reported 6.04.09, accessed
August 2009.

Mind the Gap:
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How much does this wide gap between senior and average salaries
matter? It is the issue of fairness which perhaps is at the heart of the
problem. Its tough for staff to appreciate the value of such high pay
if they are receiving relatively low levels of pay. The current climate
of cut-backs and down-sizing, of 0.5 per cent pay offers, no pay
increases, redundancies, or invitations to accept salary sacrifices
and/or secondments may serve to accentuate what some might see
as a one-sided relationship. The wider the reward gap, the harder it
is likely to be for organisations to build and maintain employee
engagement.

Another aspect of fairness mentioned by survey respondents was
bonuses generally and the small amounts paid as bonuses,

we should receive proper bonuses rather than the tiny
amounts that we get

the organisation needs to link bonus payments better to
performance and increase the transparency.

Asked what else their organisation could do to motivate them (see
box below), a number of managers highlight pay alongside issues
such as the need to be appreciated, to be involved in decision-making
and for the top team to really engage with others. As one manager
commented,

at an individual level, we seem to be rather too arrogant in
thinking we "know what motivates people" and standardising
our response, instead of just asking them!

What else could your organisation do to motivate you?

More recognition, thanks, encouragement and feedback.
some kind of formal recognition would be good, better recognition
of good work, wider recognition of success, say thank you
occasionally

Improved communications, more visibility of top team,
contact, talk more, be more open
better communications and a couple of thank you comments
occasionally

More money
performance related pay for some, pay more, salary increases
linked to performance

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Some organisations do celebrate success well. Danone, winner of the
Best UK Workplace programme
7
, illustrates this. A three day visit to
Morocco was recently given to thank staff for reaching their sales
targets, and everyone in the UK operation (around 100 people),
managers and support staff, took off for the trip. The two staff who
remained at base to answer the phones were not administrators or
support staff but the senior managers.

Google also has a well-known, positive approach to motivation:

the goal is to strip away everything that gets in our
employees way. We provide a standard package of fringe
benefits, but on top of that are first-class dining facilities,
gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, carwashes,
dry cleaning, commuting buses just about anything a
hardworking employee might want. Lets face it: programmers
want to program, they dont want to do their laundry. So we
make it easy for them to do both. Eric Schmidt, CEO
Google
8
.

Danone and Google may be regarded by some as exceptional, but the
basic principle that both examples illustrate is the need to provide
tangible and/or innovative perks, benefits and rewards which clearly
demonstrate to staff that they are appreciated and valued. The
comment from one respondent neatly sums up what needs to
happen,

my organisation needs to talk more, pay more, show more
love.

Targeting key staff groups is something that a number of employers
have done with regard to motivation initiatives although traditionally
the focus often is on graduates or high-fliers.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers launched a diversity programme, Impact
Scholars, in 2008 for African-American high school leavers to assist
them gain admission to some of the best colleges in the New York
and Washington areas of North America
9
. Ernst & Young together with
Ashridge has since 2006 focused on senior staff with a New Frontiers
programme
10
. This initiative for senior partners helps them re-vitalise
their contribution (and also their motivation levels) to the company.
BASF in Germany has also looked at similar age groups, with a
number of initiatives aimed at retaining older workers especially key
skill groups such as engineers and scientists
11
. Another major German

7
UKs Best Workplaces, May 2009. www.greatplacetowork.co.uk
8
www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=benefits.html accessed July 2009
9
Reported on www.csrwire.com/press/press_release/27138-PricewaterhouseCoopers-
Congratulates-Inaugural-Impact-Program-Scholars- accessed July 2009
10
Read more in New Frontiers for Ernst & Young, by Delma OBrien. Converse, Issue 6,
2009.
http://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.nsf/wFARPUB/New+frontiers+for+Ernst+&+Yo
ung?opendocument
11
Keeping your Senior Staffers: Hit by a shortage of engineers, BASF found a way to
retain older workers by Mina Kimes. Fortune, 20.07.09
Motivating Senior
Managers and
Other Groups
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employer has focused on ways to attract and retain younger,
Generation Y, staff (those born between 1980 to 2000). Rainer
Jensen, Director of Learning and Development at Coca Cola Germany
says that

more than ever, management needs to adopt a mentoring
and coaching role we will have to either create a different
work reality or face a severe lack of attractiveness as an
employer and a hole in our talent pipeline in the near
future.
12

However, it also is interesting to reflect upon another staff group,
namely senior level managers. What is motivation like for them and is
there a danger that their motivation levels are taken for granted by
employers? As one respondent to our survey explains,

When I sat down and tried to think about what happens here
in terms of motivation I came up with a very short list pay,
of course, and the fact that I work in the voluntary sector and
my organisation is aiming to make a difference in areas that
are also important to me. We are also supported with regard
to training and development. But I thought hard about
whether there are other things that I could put on the list but
didnt come up with anything else.

There may be a danger that employers target motivation efforts at
new recruits and neglect other key groups of staff. The comments
below from one senior manager in our survey are interesting in
highlighting what helps and hinders their motivation. It seems likely
that these issues could be relevant for other senior individuals. The
fact that its quite a long list is also worth noting. The list also
includes more demotivators than motivators which indicate the
complexity of employee engagement. Office space and the working
environment for example are included as negative issues and though
these seem relatively minor issues compared to say promotion
opportunities, they can quickly escalate to be significant problems.

12
GenerationY: Talent Management by Rainer Jensen, EFMD Global Focus, Vol 3 issue
2 2009
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What Motivates and Demotivates (an example from a senior
manager in one organisation)

Motivators
Celebrating success this might be in the team/the department
or company-wide, e.g. Googles notice board (a central
system/notice board where colleagues can nominate others who
they think have done something noteworthy)
Praise and recognition from my line manager
A reasonable/fair salary
Learning and development opportunities
Work that is recognised and valued by the organisation

Demotivators
Work Environment
Open plan offices staff here feel that they, and their work,
are not valued by the organisation. This is especially true for
staff that previously had their own office but lost these when
we moved to new offices

Immediate Manager
Lack of clear direction theres nothing worse than asking my
boss for clear direction and getting a load of faff and
nonsense
Micro management when my boss interferes in what Im
doing. It makes it seem that he doesnt have confidence in
me
Intellectual property theft I put forward an idea to my boss
and get a muted response but then hear it put forward at a
meeting by my boss as their idea!
Faint praise my boss received a really nice e-mail about
me but instead of coming across the office (were in open plan
offices) to tell me and to congratulate me, he simply
forwarded it to me as an e-mail. It seemed like a mechanical
process

Performance Management
Tolerating poor performers we havent in the past managed
poor performers well; the company is too nice.

Research by Watson Wyatt
13
asked around 170 employers, and more
than 5,500 employees (in different organisations throughout Europe)
about various aspects of rewards and retention. Their evidence
supports the Ashridge findings that pay is only a part of the package
and that other issues are important. The study also demonstrates the
fact that employers and employees may have different views on
motivation. Asked why staff are most likely to leave, employers
appear to believe that limited career and promotion opportunities are
the key issues as noted below but not stress levels apparently.
(Stress was mentioned by less than a fifth of employers and so is not

13
Global Strategic Rewards: Playing to Win in a Global Economy, 2007/2008
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender.asp?id=2007-US-0164&page=1
accessed July 2009
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one of their Top 5 issues.) Employees see things differently and cite
stress levels as the key reason for leaving, followed by issues
concerning levels of base pay. Among top-performing staff the factors
are the same but in reverse order - number 1. base pay and number
2. stress levels. Although not matched samples (i.e. the employees
surveyed are working for different employers), the message is clear
some employers may not be listening carefully enough to what
motivates (or demotivates) their employees.

Table 2: Top 5 Reasons Why Staff are Likely to Leave
Organisations
Source: Watson Wyatt, Global Strategic Rewards: Playing to Win in a
Global Economy, 2007/2008 European Findings.

Employers

%
49 career development
opportunities (lack of)

48 promotion
opportunities (lack of)

43 base pay
(dissatisfaction with)

31 relationship with
manager

28 work/life balance

All Employees

%
35 stress levels

34 base pay

27 promotion
opportunities

25 career
development
opportunities


Top-performing
Employees
%
39 base pay

37 stress levels

27 promotion
opportunities

20 career
development
opportunities


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Section 3: How Managers Motivate their Staff

The majority, three quarters, of managers we surveyed say that they
find it easy to motivate their staff and some of the reasons given are
illustrated below. Being valued, having clear goals, being trusted and
empowered; familiar issues on the list of what managers say
motivates them personally. It is hardly surprising to find that they
use the same approaches when thinking about how best to motivate
their staff.

One company interview, Motivation, the multinational view, in
Appendix 1 illustrates the differing philosophy between the manager
who strongly believes in using a people approach with his staff and
the company approach where a financial model dominates to the
exclusion of people issues.

Question Response and Reasons

How easy is it to
motivate the
staff that report
to you?

Agree 75%
Involving, consulting, valuing opinions, shares the
vision, gives clear goals, autonomy, trust, freedom

Disagree 25%
Negative environment in the organisation, Yes....you
need to involve, consult, BUT I cant do it.

But a significant number of managers a quarter of our sample
group say it is tough to motivate staff. In some cases this is
because of a poor working environment around them but others may
find the skills hard to learn. A number of organisations offer training
to managers (the National School of Government launched a training
initiative in 2008 focused on employee engagement) in giving
feedback but perhaps more needs to be done to focus on key aspects
of motivation and training that help managers adopt a coaching style.

One of the toughest situations can be inheriting a demotivated team,
whatever the history, whatever the reasons for the situation; the new
manager has an unenviable task. The team leader faces serious
people and engagement issues and at the same time they are
expected to meet business targets. The company report, Motivation,
the senior managers view, in Appendix 1 outlines the story of how
one manager dealt with this challenge and managed to turn-around
an under-performing team.

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Those managers (11 per cent of our total sample) who strongly
agree
14
it is easy to motivate staff emphasise some of the basic rules
that every good leader knows almost off by heart. As outlined in the
quotes below the need for simple, yet clear, guidelines are key for
successful motivation:

A management coaching style that helps staff learn, develop
and most importantly to experiment
A management attitude that respects staff and provides
support to help staff grow. It is a supportive relationship
working for a boss who has the time and skills to
mentor/coach others
A structure which clearly links the work to the overall
departmental or company objectives
No man or woman is an island. A good team ethos is
valued, where everyone shares the highs and lows of the task
in hand. A team that reviews performance together is likely to
be one that achieves their targets and objectives. There is
little evidence of an individual competitive model.

Figure 5: Approaches used by Managers who Find it Easy to
Motivate Staff (11 per cent of our sample group)

I coach them Give them freedom to
organise their own
work

Tasks in our
department link to the
strategy
I trust them and
delegate to the
maximum
Let them use their
own initiative

Am open, honest,
encouraging and
supportive
We respect each
other
I support my direct
reports to learn and
develop through
making their own
decisions and
mistakes

Make my staff feel
they are valued
I am approachable
and people feel they
can come to me as
necessary
Always ensuring they
receive the praise for
an idea, not me or
someone higher up the
organisation

Listen and take note
of staff ideas
I involve them in
decisions and strategy
and they are keen to
do well
We have a joint
process of motivation,
reviewing performance
together

We support and
challenge each other
well
We have an excellent
team spirit
They share my vision
for the organisation

14
Respondents could either strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree in
response to the question it is easy to motivate the staff that report to me.
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The qualities of managers who excel in terms of motivation can be
used as a practical template. For individual managers, if you are
managing a team, or are a team member, a tick-box approach may
help. If you only tick one or two boxes in the grid shown above then
you probably have low morale levels and problems engaging staff.

So what do our findings mean for organisations and for managers?
One interesting area to explore is the qualities that distinguish the
manager who motivates staff from someone who is not able to
achieve this. The following list highlights what we believe are some
qualities for the ideal manager and can be used by individual
managers or more formally in conjunction with HR professionals.

Are you a Model Manager?
Do you
Give prompt feedback to staff (about both
good and poor performance)?

Survey quotes
More praise and recognition would help;
more honest communication of any doubts
and anxieties, as opposed to stirring and
whispering about people when they are not
around
Do you
Celebrate success with the team and with
others in the organisation?

Or is it an environment where,
My current boss does not motivate me and
manages by fear. Excellent work is never
acknowledged and negative feedback is the
norm
Do you
Behave fairly, treating everyone fairly and
honestly both in terms of pay and rewards
and with regard to day to day issues? Is
everyone treated with respect?
My boss as well as the people in my direct
working environment appreciate my work and
value my opinion

Do you
Spend time creating a good working
relationship with your team? Do you know
what motivates them? Do you give everyone
a chance to take on more challenging work
and also provide enough support so that they
wont fail?

My boss and my employer need to be clearer
with me that I am valued rather than
exploited as Im poorly paid to work excessive
hours

I have the right boss who is supportive,
challenging and a good communicator

Id like more direction from my line manager
to stretch me a bit more than Im stretching
myself at present
Do you
Take time to discuss motivation in business
and project meetings?
Theres always time when we discuss new
projects to see what people would like to do
what will give them a buzz
Do you
Communicate clearly and regularly to the best
effect? Do you check that all of your staff
understand the messages? Do you discuss as
a team general housekeeping rules and
routes for efficient communication?
I share much more information with them
[the team] than my predecessor which is
greatly appreciated. I always ask for their
opinion and involve them in the decision-
making process

Do you
Create an environment which includes both
financial and non-financial incentives to
motivate staff?
Nobody should accept that their
management role is just focussed on
financials or if they are then they shouldnt
manage people
Do you I operate in Europe and my colleagues
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Are you a Model Manager?
Actively champion your team (and the work
that is done) to others in the organisation?

(staff) provide cover when Im away. With
that I ensure if the business visit is in Europe
that they attend in my absence which attracts
criticism from other areas who see it as a
benefit/perk when actually it is a business
need

I allow staff to take responsibility and always
ensure they receive praise for the idea not
me or someone higher up the organisation

My team were also motivated by having
personal confidence in me as their leader and
seeing other senior staff have confidence in
me: they felt I was a good ambassador for
their work

Do you
Provide learning and development
opportunities for staff? Do you look at ways
to help with their career development?

The company has focused on the
development of its people and on leadership
skills providing learning opportunities I value

I have almost limitless career opportunities
not necessarily upwards but across
businesses/functions to get wide and varied
experience

Everyone in my team has a leadership role in
an important policy or business area.

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Section 4: Conclusion and Recommendations

In tough economic times such as the current down-turn the quality
and commitment of staff becomes even more important. Success is
more likely to follow if you attract, and keep, high calibre staff who
feel valued and appreciated. Finding ways to demonstrate the
importance of motivation, and looking at a variety of ways to
communicate this across the business are tangible ways to show staff
how much they are appreciated and valued. We believe the following
attributes are important for success:

Processes and policies
Formal systems to manage motivation and employee
engagement. As noted earlier, a number of managers report
that the organisational approach appears to consist of doing
little in this regard, and as one person said currently the
organisation is doing very little in terms of motivating staff.
Another person commented, most of what my organisation
does to motivate is indirect e.g. excellent training offer, good
pension. Finding different ways to create a good relationship
between employer and employee invariably includes a good
approach to communications. An IRS survey which looked at
employee engagement indicates that various aspects of
communications are the most important among employers
which report a positive environment with their staff
15
.

Top level support
A commitment, and clear indicators, from leaders to
take a personal role in motivation. MacCleod and Clarkes
report concludes that generally there is limited awareness at
senior levels about the power of employee engagement. As
noted earlier, one of their recommendations to Government is
the need for a national awareness campaign (which will be led
by the Secretary of State and supported by business leaders).

Creative reward systems
Clarify and continually review rewards and benefits
financial and non-financial available to staff. Are these
reviewed regularly? What about experimenting with a
cafeteria-style package? What about flexible working and
work/life balance initiatives? The dangers of relying too much
on financial incentives are illustrated in the company
interview, The Multinational View (High Technology Sector) in
Appendix 1. Interviews with the Bank of England and retailers
John Lewis (featured in earlier Ashridge research) highlight a
variety of key issues for motivating staff. See pages 31-35 in
the Ashridge Management Index, 2008, URL link below,

15
It Pays to Talk: Gauging the employment relationship by Charlotte Wolff, IRS
Employment Review No. 811, 12.11.04
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www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.nsf/wFARATT/Ashridge%20M
anagement%20Index%202008:%20Meeting%20the%20Chall
enges%20of%20the%2021st%20Century/$file/MeetingTheCha
llengesOfThe21stCentury.pdf

Consider introducing schemes, or reviews, for staff at key
career stages; say those in their first management role,
parents with young families, those with technical roles, after
two years, five years of service, etc., and look at ways to
improve motivation for each group. Asking staff generally
about these issues is also important. Centrica, owner of
British Gas, has some 30,000 staff and regularly runs focus
groups and pulse surveys to explore employee engagement
issues - described as Say, Stay, Strive issues. See details in
the 2009 People Plan
www.centrica.co.uk/files/pdf/.../centrica_people_plan.pdf
accessed July 2009

Learning and development
State of the art learning opportunities and career
development support help send a message that staff are
valued. Halcrow Group has two mentoring programmes to
help staff develop project and technical skills. Mentors are
senior managers within the business and both schemes have
helped exchange expert knowledge and improve skill levels
across the business. (See Halcrow company report, A View
from Engineering Consultancy in Appendix 1.) Halcrow also
provides opportunities for all staff, we have great training
schemes for people at all stages in their career.

The average number of years of service at retirement is 27
years and we believe that one of the basic reasons that our
employee turnover is so low (less than 5 per cent per year) is
that we help people grow in their personal capabilities on an
ongoing basis, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman, talking
about Nestl.

Support for line managers
The manager plays an important role in motivation, a point
highlighted in research by Nitin Nohria et al (reference details
shown below
16
). Look at ways to trade expertise about
motivation across the organisation e.g. set up a
knowledge exchange between star motivational managers
and others who perhaps are taking on their first management
appointment or have recently been appointed to a more
complex role or work with larger groups of staff. Consider
ways to assist managers who inherit (or manage) a
demotivated team, appendix 1, The Senior Managers View
illustrates the difficulties of re-energizing such a team.

Metrics
Measure motivation and employee engagement levels; see
the example below at Dow Chemical. One test is turnover

16
Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model by Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysberg and
Linda-Eling Lee, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2008
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rates at a major retailer with a significant focus on employee
engagement staff turnover is 20 per cent, half the sector
average.

The number of those returning from maternity leave is
another measure. Some companies, such as Accenture,
manage to achieve a return rate close to 100 per cent.
Another simple metric is the percentages who respond to staff
opinion surveys the higher the response rate, the more
likelihood that employees feel interested and involved in the
organisation. Sainsbury for example achieve a high response
rate 80 per cent for the 2008 staff survey.

The potential of rewards and recognition to contribute to employee
engagement has been tracked in some organisations. Sarah Dickins,
retail people director at Asda spoke recently about the companys
high retention levels, this is because of the way we run our business
and reward our staff; and she highlights the share scheme which
paid 43m to 16,500 staff in 2009 which has helped reduce turnover
to below 20 per cent (compared to an average elsewhere of around
30 per cent)
17
.

More personal forms of recognition are used at Dow Chemical. The
business has introduced an on-line, e-rewards recognition programme
which is used by staff to nominate colleagues who have made a
contribution over and above what might normally be expected. A high
percentage, around 80 per cent, of the 200,000 nominations received
each year win awards. As a result staff engagement levels have risen
dramatically, increasing from a relatively low base of less than 65 per
cent to 85 per cent
18
.

Our recommendations, based on our research, are for HR directors
and senior managers to consider the following questions to determine
how well their organisation is doing with regard to motivation.

The list below also draws upon our research findings and the Gallup
12 questions
19
published at the end of the 1990s. The areas identified
may also be helpful to individual managers or teams who would like
to review their own area of the business. There are ten areas that we
believe are worth reviewing, and where appropriate, improving. You
might be able to add a few more but these are the ones which will
help your organisation be more effective.

17
Asda Share Scheme Aids Retention, Personnel Today, 9 June 2009.
18
Reported in The People Management Guide to the Reward and Benefits Market,
January 2008.
19
First, Break all the Rules, What the Worlds Greatest Managers do Differently by
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, 1999, Simon & Schuster.
Recommendations
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Thinking about your organisation consider the following
statements:

Score on a scale of
1 (Agree) to 5 (Disagree)
1 2 3 4 5
Communication
Managers are offered regular
training about effective
communication

Staff opinions at all levels of the
organisation are regularly surveyed

Communication is a two-way
dialogue between the organisation
and staff

Praise and recognition
The culture is one of praise and
recognition

Success is celebrated regularly
e.g. within teams, for individual
achievers and other staff groups

The statement our people are our
greatest asset is a key value

Staff feel fairly rewarded for the
work they do

Senior managers actively take a
personal role in employee
engagement and motivation

Management style
Managers are given autonomy to
run their own show

Managers behave with integrity
Managers treat staff fairly
Managers give prompt feedback to
staff (about both good and poor
performance)

Managers are expected to co-
operate with other
departments/business areas

Managers encourage a culture of
respect and trust

Teamwork
Creating good working relationships
in each team is important

Ten key areas for Measuring Motivation

Communication Praise and recognition
Management style Teamwork
Motivation Learning and development
Work relationships Work environment
Performance Management Career development

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Score on a scale of
1 2 3 4 5
Managers act as good ambassadors
and champion their teams within the
organisation

Motivation
There is clear ownership at senior
levels for motivation and employee
engagement

Leaders in our organisation under-
stand what motivates and engages
staff

Managers take time to discuss
motivation in business meetings

A range of both financial and
non-financial incentives are available
to motivate staff

Staff feel that their work is valued
and recognised by the organisation

Learning and development
A learning and development culture
exists which encourages staff to
develop

Staff at all levels have opportunities
to learn and grow

Managers give staff opportunities to
take on more challenging work and
provide them with support to do this

Work relationships
Managers have good working
relationships with their staff and
colleagues

Managers are encouraged to develop
their relationship management skills

Work environment
Staff have the necessary resources
to do their job effectively

Staff are encouraged to contribute
ideas that will make the organisation
more effective

Efforts are made to recognise and
tackle the issue of work-related
stress

Importance is attached to work-life
balance

Performance management
All staff understand what is expected
of them and have clear objectives

Poor performance is managed well
Managers receive regular feedback
about motivation levels in their team

Career development
All staff have regular career
development discussions

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Score on a scale of
1 2 3 4 5
Significant support and advice is
available to help staff with career
development

Promotion processes are fair and
transparent

Career development and talent
management are closely linked to
business strategy

Examine your scores
Scores of 1 and 2 are areas of strength in relation to
engagement and motivation in your organisation and should
be built upon

Scores of 3 indicate areas for further development

Scores of 4 and 5 are areas of weakness and therefore need
urgent attention.
Organisations that take employee engagement and motivation
seriously should be scoring mostly 1s and 2s. A profile where there
are significant numbers of 4s and 5s is cause for concern!

When you have finished this first process an overview of the current
environment you might wish to use the list again to consider your
ideal state. This then will provide the key areas where you should
focus your efforts. An alternative approach is to use this checklist
across a number of different business areas.
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Appendix 1: Company Interviews

Company Interviews include:

A View from Engineering Consultancy Halcrow Group
The Multinational View (High Technology Sector) - the
manager, the employer and motivation
The Senior Managers View (Voluntary Sector) re-creating
motivation in a team
A View from the Leisure Sector recruiting motivated staff

Earlier company interviews on motivation conducted by Ashridge at
John Lewis and the Bank of England can be found at
www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.nsf/wFARATT/Ashridge%20Manage
ment%20Index%202008:%20Meeting%20the%20Challenges%20of
%20the%2021st%20Century/$file/MeetingTheChallengesOfThe21stC
entury.pdf see pages 31-35 of the report.

John Martin is Technical and Innovation Director at Halcrow Group, a
major engineering consultancy business. Based in the UK the group
has grown rapidly over the past decade and now employs over 8,000
staff, 2,200 are based in offices across the UK and others are spread
across the globe in 70 offices including China, Latin America and
India. The company is involved in a wide variety of projects including
the flood barrier for St. Petersburg and the Man Made river irrigation
project in Libya. Work is fast paced and whether the contract is large
or small, tight deadlines and total precision are crucial. It can be
pressurised, but it can also offer opportunities for exciting, leading
edge work.

John says that the company has always taken motivation seriously
and that the variety and challenge of their work has helped
considerably with this,

even though Halcrow has grown significantly over the past
few years we have managed to keep our people focus. We do
care about everyone who works with us and a lot of people
have stayed with us over the years as they enjoy working
here; we are also at the leading edge of technical and
engineering knowledge and that has a big impact on
motivation. Being involved in a major project can be really
inspiring for the teams who experience every part of project
design from ideas, and scoping the initial designs through
technical complications, to completion and operation.

Staff turnover levels are relatively low, typically around 12 per cent,
though the figure is somewhat higher with regard to graduates. The
company has in recent years looked at what could be done to
improve the situation. New graduates are given assistance to gain
their professional qualifications in areas such as civil engineering. This
type of support is available in other professional firms but Halcrow
1. Motivation
A View from
Engineering
Consultancy
Halcrow Group
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has also introduced other initiatives such as a foundation skill group,
to be started in late 2009. Another approach is an induction
programme which aims to bring together new recruits around the
world for a three day project (around 200 graduates join the
company each year). This is traditionally held in Swindon and a
programme of activities to facilitate networking between the
graduates and help to raise awareness of the business. The
challenge event this year is to launch a rocket and see who can
send it the highest, leads to real competition between teams. A key
aim is to create a shared experience for recruits at the start of their
career and provide a cohesive international network or alumni that
they can refer to in future.

Two mentoring schemes Project Excellence and Technical
Excellence which are briefly described below have also been
launched and are proving successful. Staff who are mentored feel
that the company is investing in them and so they feel valued. The
company also sees a return as both schemes have already helped to
improve skill levels.

1. Project Excellence was introduced back in 2002 and sets out to
improve skills of project managers. Mentors are appointed to help
the protgs think about their skills and in particular identify
where improvement is needed e.g. commercial skills and
delighting clients and delivering solutions. Currently there are
957 protgs with 365 mentors.

2. Technical Excellence, is designed to offer support to technical
staff. The competences in four key areas are reviewed. Having
established which skills need to be developed, an action plan will
be agreed and this may involve:

Training programmes either in-house or via external
providers
Specialist tutoring usually expertise provided by another
member of staff
Self-study
Work shadowing or on-the-job training and experience

John, who is a company sponsor for the initiative and acts as one of
the mentors for the Technical Excellence programme, says it is
proving to be very popular, staff want to progress and we want to
help them to do this. Currently there are in excess of 100 mentors
and protgs. Training is given by the learning department on
mentoring / coaching skills before they are introduced to the scheme.
The key focus for the mentors is passing on their knowledge as part
of our talent development and succession planning programmes. The
mentors are volunteers who want to share their knowledge and to
help generate the behaviours that will assist staff in the development
of their careers. A future idea is to link to competency assessment. In
some cases mentoring is arranged on a one-to-one basis, sometimes
on one to several.

What about motivation and the younger generation, Generation Y, do
they have different needs? There some similarities, for instance the
fact that everyone identifies with the company values such as respect
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for others, (see box below). One difference John observes among
some graduates joining Halcrow is a level of impatience in wanting
too much, too soon.

We can find new graduates who think that they can become
project managers within a matter of months from when they
are recruited. We like ambition but of course project
management is a responsible role and it takes a long time to
develop staff capable of doing this type of complex job well.
We are managing big projects such as designing and building
a new bridge, often involving a budget of thousands/ millions
of pounds.

Unrealistic expectations can exist but is something that can be
managed. We split our projects into packages creating a scaled down
project management role that gives staff the opportunity to gain the
experience they need in a safe and supported environment.

The role of the project manager (a key job at Halcrow) also makes a
difference in terms of motivating staff. John says that the outstanding
managers are those who have good people skills; they understand
the value of talking to graduates and the need to do things together
with them, involving them for instance in some new, developmental
areas of work that they will find interesting. Does Halcrow do
enough with regard to motivation? John says the answer is probably
not, as we can always do better. For example we are developing a
more joined up approach to the performance review process.

A good deal has been written about creating a great place to work
and whether companies simply pay lip service to this ideal. Halcrow
is different as it really is committed to making the company
somewhere special and not only for graduates. As Chief Executive
Peter Gammie explains, I believe we have great training schemes for
people at all stages in their career. If only every company could say
the same!

What Halcrow offers

Structured career opportunities and an emphasis on home-
grown talent. The chief executives career is an example of
this, as he joined the company over 20 years ago
Mentoring schemes Technical Excellence and Project
Excellence for project managers and technical staff
Flexitime working
Halcrows Company Values

Act with integrity
Be open and honest
Respect the dignity of others
Share knowledge freely

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A reward and recognition scheme which celebrates staff
achievements with certificates and a small financial reward
Support to assist with work-life balance. Halcrow recently
won an award from Working Families
www.workingfamilies.org.uk
A Choices benefit scheme including healthcare cover,
childcare vouchers and the opportunity to buy up to 6
extra days holiday each year
A strong culture of learning and development which starts
at the top of the organisation. John says that as a
leadership team were committed to developing ourselves,
and one recent event focussed on coaching and mentoring
styles. Various in-house and external training programmes
are available along with support to help graduates gain
professional qualifications e.g. ICE, IEE, IMechE, CIWEM
and IStructE
Competitive salaries
A profit-sharing scheme up to 49 per cent of shares can
be owned by staff
An internal jobs market with opportunities to work
overseas staff recruited in Poland can apply for posts in
other countries and likewise UK recruits might spend time
working in India, the USA or elsewhere.

Yves Kohl (not his real name) works for a high technology
multinational and has been with the company for ten years, most
recently as Country Manager in middle Europe. He has a team of 50
people currently, although staff numbers have reduced dramatically
over the past year. The current environment (Summer 09) he says is
challenging, not least because the technology sector is one of rapid
change. The current tough economy is also relevant, it was a
competitive market we were in before the recession but now this is
even more the case. Significant changes are just ahead such as a
planned merger later this year with another company.

What the manager does
Motivation is often harder to maintain in tough times like these.
However, Yves is clear that motivation is, one of the most important
things for any company; especially one like this. Were in the service
business and theres no doubt that you make your money by your
people and so they have to be motivated. His own philosophy for
motivation is what he describes as a personal approach. Its
important he says to do the following things:

Provide work that is worth doing well, to create a feeling that
staff are doing something that is very important for the
company; they need to feel they are creating value
Communicate effectively; find ways of involving staff
especially with regard to information. I try to ensure they
know as much as possible. This way they feel engaged and will
know that their role counts. Even if this is not the prevailing
culture of the organisation Yves says it is something that every
manager needs to do if they want to motivate their staff

2. Motivation: The
Multinational
View (High
Technology
Sector) The
manager, the
employer
and motivation
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Act as a role model and show the good behaviour that they
want from their people in the way that they behave. If Im
motivated then this has a big impact on my team
Find non-financial goals for the team, every team needs a goal
beyond financial targets, what counts is having a focus. For
example in my team its about bringing good, high quality
work to the customers. Something which in turn gives staff
pride in the work that they do
Provide feedback, you tell someone immediately if things are
good praise them, compliment them but also you must
approach someone if there are problems. In the case of under-
performance its important to tell them that this is not the
expected result. I give people the possibility to talk about the
issues and together we will look at how to improve the
situation. There are not solutions in every case. If things dont
improve, in spite of lots of help and support from me or from
others in the team then maybe its better for the person to
move on somewhere else to another job that fits them better
Close, constant attention is another principle, and this is
especially true he believes with regard to managing technical
staff. We have a lot of clever technical people working for us
and they have a reputation of being difficult to manage.
However, in my experience I think that you have to appraise
them and manage them on a constant basis, and not allow
demotivation to happen.

What the organisation does
This personal approach that Yves uses to motivate his country team
does not reflect the company approach in the way that it deals with
employees. Instead the preference he says applied across every
country which the multinational operates in is a financial one. Yves
says that this pervades the organisation and over the past few years
he can see the negative impact it has on motivation and morale,

you can feel it everywhere in the company; that nothing else
apart from the finances are seen to matter.

This is not to say that targets and the business financial objectives
are not critical, and as he explains obviously you have to get these
right otherwise there will be no business. What has happened though
is that the financial numbers are paramount and those at the top of
the business, the chief executive and the senior team; believe that
the people aspects of running the business are unimportant. The
impact of this approach on staff is predictable; it is hard for them to
see that the company values them as individuals.

What could the organisation do to improve motivation?
It may be a sophisticated, high technology sector but the remedy to
improving motivation in this organisation requires a shift to put the
focus back on to people issues. This would require a radical change of
direction, possibly a different set of values. Instead of valuing a
financial model to the exclusion of all else, the leadership team need
to understand the difference that a personal approach can make. The
changes briefly outlined below would help kick-start such a process:

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1. Hand back more motivation to the managers: Provide the
space and freedom for managers so they have more personal
opportunities to motivate their staff. Currently there are few
opportunities to reward and recognise staff, a point
emphasised by some managers in our survey. Yves says that,
over the past few years there are less and less tools and
techniques for managers to use. We do not have any more the
opportunity to do motivation.

2. Take a medium to long-term view, and not just focus on
the short-term: Investment in learning and development,
and career development Yves says are part of what motivates
staff. If this is scaled among the other cut-backs within the
business this has implications for morale as staff will feel
less valued. It also will create problems longer-term because
as he explains, if you pay by quota or yearly results you
maybe win short-term, though I think this creates problems
and is not always motivating to people, but the business has
to plan for the mid to long-range view as well. An example of
this is currently happening with regard to learning and
development.

Skill improvement and education are great motivators for
people. But, because we are under cost pressures, the
company is cutting back on training and in the long-term this
will hit us hard. We are OK at the moment and are on top of
technology in terms of our skills but in order to stay there, we
have to continue investing in training and education otherwise
we will not have the workforce to beat our competitors.

And it is worth reflecting on the crucial role of the manager in
motivating staff and as Yves says,

nobody should accept that their management role is just
focussed on financials or if they are then they shouldnt
manage people.

Re-creating motivation in a team
Xandra Martin (not her real name) has been in her current role for
three years and manages a highly motivated, professional team in the
voluntary sector. But it wasnt always like this. When she first joined
the organisation to take on her current job she also inherited a team
of people. The team had been without a manager for over 18 months
and felt neglected by the organisation. Staff felt that although other
people externally valued what they did, the organisation did not; and
they felt abandoned.

Not surprisingly morale was at a very low level and it was therefore a
challenging job for Xandra to take on. Not only did she have to focus
on a new role, going out on the road to meet people across all the UK
regions where the organisation operated, she also had an unhappy
team at base. Added to this were further complications. Younger than
the others in her new team, she was an outsider, recruited
3. Motivation - The
Senior Managers
View (Voluntary
Sector)
Ashridge
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externally whereas most of the team had been there for a long time.
What were her first impressions?

I inherited the team. Most of them had been here for a long
time. They thought their role was important and cared about it
but were feeling very demotivated when I arrived. I felt that I
needed to build the team back up.

Xandras first step was to hold one-to-one conversations with
everyone in the team. She explains,

It was important to listen to everyone and spend time with
them. I made a conscious call to be around for the team
they could interrupt me whenever I was here. In those early
weeks especially I made sure I was in the office for a few days
each week and not constantly out on the road.

This decision was not universally popular; there was an expectation
from more senior levels that her immediate priority was outside the
office, getting to know the regions. The choice however was clear for
Xandra, the team needed clear leadership, clear direction and this is
what I tried to provide for them. I focused on what was expected of
them individually and what the team had to achieve. The team were
similarly frank in some of their comments to her, as one member
said, if you dont get a grip on all of this by September then Ill be
gone.

Weekly 9 oclock coffee meetings on sofas were held for the
immediate team (of five), and each month a meeting for the wider
team (of eleven) where staff from other departments were invited.
As well as a chance for us to hear about work elsewhere in the
organisation, it meant other departments could see what our team
were doing. Using invited guests in this way also helped provide a
platform where the team could talk about what they had achieved.

Another change over the first few months was that the organisation
began to appreciate the team much more. Xandra says that what
motivated the team a lot was seeing the profile of their work, and
their department, raised in the organisation. Seeing volunteering
recognised as key to the delivery of the strategy, a core aspect of
organisational success rather than a "fluffy" and "nice to do" thing
was really motivating for them.

Xandra had quickly recognised that this type of change was important
and employed a number of different tactics to achieve this when she
joined the organisation,

I was proactively out there seeking opportunities to position
volunteering in this way with senior stakeholders. I also
developed a number of clear, succinct messages about the
value of volunteering and presented them in a way that I
thought would catch the imagination of the organisation. So,
as much as it was about managing the team well it was also
about leading the function they were in and getting very senior
stakeholders on board with what we were about.

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Another big difference came when I persuaded our Director of
Operations to stand up at our senior management conference
and talk about how he had experienced a "light bulb moment"
(his phrase) realising the strategic importance of
volunteering. For the team this was as motivational, if not
more so, than the core line management good practice. They
were motivated by the fact that their work was getting
attention it deserved, it was being valued and in turn they saw
this turn into more volunteer management roles being created
in the organisation.

If it all sounds like a straightforward, textbook, recipe of what every
good manager should do then Xandra would agree, although as many
managers know from experience what sounds fairly simple in theory
can be tough to implement. But the situation was harder she says
because of the low levels of morale, I had to apply more of it, more
constantly, in order to change the team. Another difference in this
story is that Xandra had the confidence and courage to set up a
systematic approach to managing the team. It wasnt easy, I really
struggled with my confidence when I joined. The task was daunting,
and another factor was the towering reputation of the previous
manager, the person who held the job before me had been there
over twenty years, was respected, widely admired for their expertise,
and had won awards. It was a difficult act to follow.

Of course motivating a demotivated team is not always possible. Lots
of things can de-rail the work. It is a slow process of so many months
with good days and bad days along the way. The real turning
point Xandra says was about seven months after she arrived, when a
team event was organised to celebrate the successes of the past
year. I remember sitting at home cutting out big gold stars for a
garland of stars; each star had a caption about a success and
included lots of work achievements as well as the personal issues
such as three new babies ! I wondered if this was all a bit too
contrived, a bit too much and whether the celebration event would be
a disaster but it wasnt; it was a great focus on work well done and
we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

The advocacy work of those early weeks and months promoting the
teams work to others in the organisation was worthwhile and Xandra
says that the team, were also motivated by having personal
confidence in me as their leader and seeing other senior staff have
confidence in me: they felt I was a good ambassador for their work.
It was key to motivating the team. Not every manager wins the
confidence and respect of the team they lead but it is important as it
helps create a high-energy working environment where staff are more
likely to say they feel proud of the team and the work they do.

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Robert Hudson (not his real name, and some details are also altered)
is Head of the Project Management Office at a well-known Leisure
Group where he leads a team of ten staff. Although he and his team
are based in the UK, their work is global dealing with IT strategic
issues such as direct customer access and telephony tools. It is a
challenging role, not only because of the scale of the operation with
over 4,000 staff world-wide across a number of business units.
Another factor is the scale of change one task for the team is
incorporating IT systems of new businesses and standardisation
across the Group, a major project which began about two years ago.
Not least of course is the impact and implications of the current
recession (Summer/Autumn 2009) on all leisure companies.

Since Robert joined the company three years ago he has recruited
almost all of the current team. He says that motivating the team is
easy; partly because the people recruited have the right attitude.
The terms attitude and motivation are inter-changeable in his view
and also he believes that the team is only likely to be successful if
everyone involved is positive and arrives with a can do mentality.
He explains that whilst

you can influence attitudes to some degree, you cant change
the basic attitude of people. I think these qualities are
important, and they can make all the difference when dealing
with projects that involve a lot of change. Were dealing with
technology changes, with strategic projects, and we often
have to convince people about the value of the change thats
being discussed. So someone in our team who can see positive
rather than negative is a great asset in helping drive through
the ideas.

This emphasis on attitude is obvious in the detail of the recruitment
process for project management team members. If I have two
equally qualified candidates then someone who appears to be
motivated is the one that Ill go for.

The project management team has grown in size and Robert has
been involved in recruiting all bar one of the current team of ten. He
explains that he takes a factual, honest approach to interviewing:

Im keen at the interview stage to tell people what its like,
he explains, I think its helpful to be as honest as I possibly
can about the difficulties, the problems and any issues I think
might happen. I would rather scare them away. I dont want
people to arrive and then find that the job isnt what they
expected.

Its an approach that would not suit every manager and in most
organisations there are stories told about people who on their first
day dont recognise the job they applied for. Robert says that total
honesty is a valuable technique, not least as it means that by the
second interview stage candidates who are not really keen have ruled
themselves out. An added bonus is that when the new person arrives
4. A View from the
Leisure Sector
Recruiting
Motivated Staff
Ashridge
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Century:

there are no unpleasant surprises, as the role and the job are exactly
as described.

Those first few weeks in a new role are key for the manager and the
individual to get to know one another well and it can be a delicate
balance between too much, or too little supervision. Roberts own
approach is to give the new team member some space, I let them
run for a few weeks and get them to do something from each of our
main activities we have operations; knowledge management tasks
and strategic projects. About a month after they join then well sit
down together and write some objectives and Im keen to have
different types of objectives. He includes project related tasks and
something non-business, such as individual attitudes.

The company system is set up for annual performance reviews but
Robert also schedules a half way discussion, explaining that this isnt
so much a formal process but more about have the objectives
changed were in a fast-paced business and so this does happen
and are we still on track?

Its also worth stating the diverse background and skills base of team
members which includes pharmaceuticals, IT and banking. This might
present a greater challenge for some managers but Robert says he
feels quite comfortable leading this type of team. The same mix is
true with regard to nationality as the team includes German, French,
Italian and Swiss. His own background is also international he was
educated in Austria and has worked in Brussels and is now living and
working in the UK.

Considering the role of money in motivation, Robert says that the
leisure sector is rarely competing with the high salaries which have
caught so much attention recently such as those in banking and
investment,

what is important though is that people feel adequately
compensated for the role that they take on. For myself, money
is important but its also important to have a challenging role
where you can grow and make a difference.

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Appendix 2: Profile of Respondents (n=210)

(Note where do not total 100% due to inclusion of other category)

Age Group (years)

%

Number of direct reports

%
30 or under 1 None 21
31-40 33 1-5 39
41-50 41 6-10 19
51-60 23 11-20 10
61 and over 2 More than 20 11

Where based

%
Gender
%
UK 67 Male 61
Outside UK 33 Female 39

Length of time with
organisation
%
Managerial level

%
Less than 1 years 3 Senior 67
1-5 years 31 Middle 20
6 - 10 years 23 Professional/specialist 10
More than 10 years 43 Junior 1

Organisation

%
Number of people
employed by
organisation
%
Private Sector 49 100 or less 8
Public/Third Sector 51 101 1,000 28
1,001 5,000 19
Private Sector Organisations % 5,001 10,000 15
Utilities 3 Over 10,000 30
Manufacturing/production 18
Construction/engineering 3
Retail/distribution/transport 6
Financial Services 9
Training 3

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The Last Word: What Managers say about
Motivation

. and their boss
My organisation doesn't really do anything to motivate me which in
my case is the right approach. I am very self-motivated and there is
nothing I like less than a manager who is determined to motivate me
- that's usually when I reach for the job ads! Having autonomy and
flexibility in my role is important for my motivation but it's also
important for me to work for people I have confidence in and can
learn from

Having the right boss - who is supportive, challenging, and a good
communicator. My MBA support helped and exposure to 'special
projects'! e.g. acquisitions etc. Being part of a good strong team with
clear goals. Talking to me about my future.....career discussions

My boss as well as the people in my direct working environment
appreciate my work and value my opinion

Many managers haven't even got the slightest idea HOW much
damage they are causing by inappropriate actions and behaviour!

I am involved in key decisions. Being empowered to shape and run
my team according to my vision. Being consulted on areas that may
not be core responsibility to me, but where my expertise and
judgment are still valued

I recently asked for mentoring but this was only offered on a very
limited basis for a short time a few meetings with a senior manager.
Also my own manager at that time was quite threatened by my
request and asked me to justify it in terms of what deficits I wanted
to address! I wasn't working to a deficit model but was seeking a
positive role model, an opportunity to reflect and develop my skills
and understanding with support from someone who had already
worked at a senior level in the organisation

. and the job
Im with people I enjoy working with and my job is intellectually
stimulating

and the organisations approach
The approach to the general staff... not me is You are lucky to
have a job in this current climate so knuckle down and sweat out
the bad times"

We have a survey annually - the results of which were not published
widely this year...

and HR
Admin (expenses, booking travel, self-help HR, getting invoices paid,
etc.) becomes more and more burdensome
Ashridge
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Some of the HR people planning processes and procedures,
especially on-line content, are cumbersome and bureaucratic

and the team
We need clearer and even more frequent team meetings and
communication

Theres very little recognition or understanding of what my team and
I do so not much visibility, little feedback or encouragement

More support staff would enable my team to do more for the
company and therefore be more pro-active and effective

I believe that development of the teams to deliver corporate
initiatives should be more transparent and open it currently seems
to be based on who you know rather than what you know

We need to stop the focus on individual performance to the
detriment of team behaviours.

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About Ashridge

Ashridge is a leading international business school based in
Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1959, Ashridge works with
individuals and organisations from around the world in its three
core areas of executive education, research and consulting.

It is consistently ranked as one of the worlds leading business
schools. In the latest Financial Times ranking for customised
executive education (2009), Ashridge was ranked number one in
the UK for the second year running. It is one of a handful of business
schools to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB); the European Quality Improvement
System (EQUIS) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Ashridges activities and areas of expertise include:

Open and tailored executive education programmes
MBA, MSc, PhD & Diploma qualifications
Organisation consulting
Coaching
Applied research

Visit www.ashridge.org.uk for more information.



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