Ethos Issue 6, Jul 2009
Rethinking Incentives
for the Downturn
Stephen Choo
Yet appropriate reward and recognition
does not have to equate with spending.
Employees work for more than money:
they work to get training and career
development, to make a valuable
contribution, and because
they enjoy contributing
to a common vision
and culture. Managers
should understand what
it is that their employees
truly value and focus on
improving these, even
if (and especially when)
financial rewards are
being squeezed.
We believe that in order to retain
key staff, organisations must resist the
temptation to use ever higher salaries
as their primary employee retention
tool. Ironically, employees who are
attracted to jobs only because of high
salaries during the boom years (as was
common in the banking and financial
sectors) will also tend to leave for the
same reasons during a downturn. Instead,
employers should focus on increasing
employee engagement and developing
better support systems that enable their
employees to succeed.
NOT JUST PAY, BUT ENGAGE
AND ENABLE!
Research from Hay Group Insight
suggests that an increasing number
of organisations enjoy high levels of
employee engagement, yet nonetheless
struggle with performance issues.
Motivation is only potential energy
until it is well harnessed. While
employees may feel committed to
organisational success, they may
nevertheless lack the conditions to
channel their efforts productively and
effectively.
Getting the most from motivated
employees requires that organisations
support them in being successful.
Employees must not only be engaged,
by shared goals, but also be enabled for
optimal performance.
Hay Group Insight has found
enabling of employees embraces two
key components. The first is an optimised
role which requires that employees
be effectively matched to their jobs,
such that their skills and abilities are
effectively utilised.
The second is a supportive environment,
which involves providing people with
the resources they need (for example,
time, information, tools and equipment)
and removing barriers to getting the
job done (such as red tape, or tasks that
don’t add value).
By considering both employee
engagement and employee enablement,
research by Hay Group Insight suggests
that there are four distinct groups of
employees within a typical organisation
(Figure 1).
• Effective employees are both highly
engaged and well supported for
success. In these ideal circumstances,
employees are most likely to be
high achievers.
• Ineffective employees lack both
engagement and support and are understandably likely to struggle
in their job roles. Their poor
performance and morale can quickly
become a drain on the organisation
and others around them. The
"vocal few" many often fall within
this group.
I |
