When it comes to motivating, engaging and retaining
employees, there’s no one-size-fits all strategy that small business owners can
rely on.
Key Finding to Motivate Employees
One key finding that might make cash-strapped small business
owners nervous: Job rewards (that is, monetary or non-monetary compensation).
It is the most important factor in employee engagement
overall. Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents rank job rewards first, above
job recognition (42 percent) and job motivation (11 percent).
Keep in mind, however, that “job rewards” include both
monetary and non-monetary compensation. So if you can’t offer raises or
bonuses, you can offer non-monetary rewards (something 60 percent of companies
in the survey do). In fact, the survey found that younger employees are driving
a shift toward non-monetary rewards.
Sixty-four per cent of employees surveyed say they would
like to see their companies offer non-monetary rewards, but among Generation Y,
the percentage jumped to 70 percent.
The most popular non-monetary rewards:
- Comp time off
- Free food or meals
- Event tickets (to shows, sporting events and concerts)
While these do cost money, they cost less than offering
raises since they’re given on an occasional, not ongoing, basis.
That said, tangible rewards like raises, bonuses and
promotions still matter to Gen Y. In fact, possibly more than they do to other
age groups. While 31 percent of respondents overall say they’d start
job-hunting if an expected raise, bonus or promotion didn’t materialize, among
Gen Y that figure jumps to 48 percent.
It Depends on the Life Stage of the Employee
Other key motivators for employees vary depending on their
ages and life-stages, too. For example:
- Gen Y and Boomer respondents are more motivated by interesting work.
- Gen X was more motivated by good benefits and good pay/salary.
