The Opportunity Economy

Excerpted from The SHRM Blog By David Kovacovich

2020 seems like an ominous number……

I’m sure there are movies of lore that have characterized the year forthcoming with jet packs and laser beams. Much has changed through technology and there are trends emerging that will have an impact on the way we work in 2020.

People’s personal mantras are more important than ever. Whether you are passionate about fitness, mental health or the environment; your personal passions come with you to work. With the evolution of the home office and the gig economy, the line between work and life is becoming ever blurred. Companies are taking notice and are celebrating individuality.

Where does this leave us in 2020? How can employers be part of the motivation revolution?

Take Inventory
We’ve scrambled for several years to fix performance reviews. Bolstering manager/employee relationships means eliminating silos (this ideology can be difficult for mistrusting leaders to accept). A performance plan is a legal document anything beyond that is goal setting. Goals can be written on a napkin or programmed into a system and accountability is easier to accept when it is self-administered.

Each employee is unique. Help employees understand what they do well and let that drive.

Self-Selected Goals
Whether you use the SCARF methodology or ask employees to stack rank the importance of the 5 Intrinsic Motivators, allowing people to define their own path to success is the most-sustainable structure.

So many weekly performance review meetings are based on manager critique of employee activity. No one in the history of life has been motivated by someone telling them what they are doing wrong. Allowing employees to determine their ascendance path helps them attain their goals by amplifying their strongest functional abilities.

Experiences
A recent survey revealed that the current generation of workers would get a second job to afford an opportunity for travel. This proving that physical things are becoming less desirable than experiences. Pictures in frames are being replaced by selfies on desktops. Trophies on desks are being replaced by badges on email signatures. The opportunity to win a flat-screen TV is proving less awarding than a week away in a warm climate.

Every organization celebrates its year-end achievement event. The problem is that said event tends to celebrate a very narrow percentage of the workforce. While your support staff looks through snow-covered windows, emails arrive of sales reps in Maui. It’s hardly motivating.

Incentives for service well-done do not have to be defined as a meritocracy. Customer service efficiency is improved through training, course-correction and collaboration… and you can reward these behaviors incrementally.

With points built up for behavioral enhancement, employees of all disciplines can find their way to the beach in the dead of winter.

Meet your employees where they sit, allow them to select their path to success and give them some time away to celebrate their achievements.