The heart of any business is the skilled team of employees who work together to achieve the common goal of creating profit. When your staff functions like a well-oiled machine, with each part performing its function as needed, the resulting boost in productivity can add a lot of value.

One of the most difficult things for any business owner or human resources (HR) manager to determine can be the specific reasons why a particular employee works. Obviously, people work in order to make money to survive. But beyond that, figuring out what motivates individual members of your team can unlock the potential they have within.

Staff Motivation

Workplace satisfaction surveys repeatedly note that the top three most gratifying aspects of employment are meaningful work, employer appreciation, and the ability of employees to self-determine the way they work. Surprisingly, money tends to land towards the middle of the pack of the top motivators for workplace performance.

This reveals that the drive behind worker excellence isn’t utilitarian; rather, the satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of accomplishment provides an emotional boost that appears to be valued more than what might be expected. A well-paying job always attracts candidates, but the culture and work environment can greatly increase the productivity of the people you hire.

The Importance of Feedback

In one way or another, nearly all business owners and HR departments track the performance of their staff members to discover and measure the effectiveness of their performance. Statistics available through CRM, ATS, and other workplace databases provide useful metrics that allow you to work with employees to maximize their performance.

Employers should apply the same process for themselves. Rather than bury their heads in the sand, business owners and HR managers should welcome detailed feedback from employees to discover ways of supporting a healthy working environment.

These surveys can be performed by a third party in an anonymous fashion, which allows workers to be completely honest about their workplace experience. This leads to better quality feedback that’s more in-depth while avoiding potential conflicts that may arise due to negative emotions.

Want to Find out What Motivates Your Employees?

Combining feedback with employee performance is a powerful way of finding out what really motivates your employees. Grapevine Evaluations can provide specialized expertise to help you discover the underlying motivations of your staff through pre-set evaluations and complete customization.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!