What Really Motivates Employees

May 8, 2012

Interview with Kevin Cope, author of the book Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company

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Mike Carruthers:
While employers are demanding more and more from their workers perhaps employers should take note of a very important truth.

Kevin Cope:
People work hard for a paycheck, harder for a person, and hardest for a purpose – for a reason.
 

Kevin Cope, author of the book Seeing the Big Picture...  

So when people really understand the purpose or reason behind an initiative or their company’s objective they’re much more likely to be engaged. You’ll get their hearts and minds just not their backs and hands.

Kevin says managers in order to motivate employees may say something like…

“Hey boy if you are able to be more efficient we’ll save money and the company will be more profitable.” That by itself doesn’t necessarily engage people the average employee they might feel like boy I work harder and you get richer. So part of that by seeing the big picture is not only helping them understand why it’s good for the company but what’s also in it for them. If the company performs well they’re more likely to have promotions and increases in pay.

Zappos the online shoe retailer is one company that gets their employees to buy into their goals and objectives.

And the interesting part is after you’ve been hired at Zappos, which is hard, after 5 weeks they’ll actually offer you 3 thousand dollars to leave the company. In other words they want to make sure that you fit well, you’re bought into the culture, the strategy and if you are boy you’ve really got skin in the game.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here.