This article is courtesy of Kathleen Hogan, Chief People Officer at Microsoft, and is similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a pyramid of needs that can help employees feel valued and fulfilled at work.
Hogan lists the five P’s of employee fulfilment as: Purpose, people, pride, pay, and perks.
At 10Eighty we’d replace the perks with passion. We think that building a meaningful career is more important than money and benefits. As we emerge from lockdown many are re-evaluating what work planning career changes.
Purpose at work
Author Simon Sinek explains that everyone has a WHY—it is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us and is the one constant that will guide you toward fulfilment in work and life. When employees feel that their work is meaningful, they demonstrate greater job performance, commitment, and engagement – leading to enhanced well-being. In fact, a Harvard Business Review report found that 9/10 employees were willing to swap 23% of their lifetime income with the opportunity to have more meaningful work.
At an individual level, those who understand their job’s wider purpose are more engaged and more creative. However, a McKinsey & Co study found that 62% of employees want more purpose from work. From an organisational perspective this means staff turnover goes down and productivity goes up as employees work harder, using their initiative, and making good decisions about their work. All stakeholders, from senior managements to customers, benefit from the positive effects.
People at work
Employee engagement is crucial as it is estimated that disengaged employees can cost organisations up to $550B per year. It’s often said “our people are our greatest asset” but sadly many employers don’t treat their people as assets. We want to see people-centred policies and processes that make that mantra real at the sharp end. Invest in your people, empower them to bring their best selves to work. The CIPD’s view is that there is an untapped potential to boost productivity by raising the quality of people management across all sectors.
Pride at work
Pride in the organisation for which you work and being proud of the work you do are primary drivers of motivation and satisfaction. Employees want work that makes them happy, energised and offers them a meaningful career. The people-centred leader will inspire employees to believe they are part of something bigger and that their enthusiasm, energy, commitment, and pride in company are key to success. Great Place to Work uses pride as one of the measures in their annual survey.
Package – pay and perks
Pay is what HR people refer to as a hygiene factor, it is not a long-term motivator. That said you have to get it right otherwise recruitment, employee engagement and employee retention become very difficult. Offer a fair, market-driven rate that rewards contribution and commitment, alongside opportunities to progress and develop.
After fair pay then perks and working conditions can make a real difference for employees, the problem is that one size does not fit all. A menu of options around vacation, health and life insurance, retirement benefits, etc. that allow each employee to tailor their package is the ideal. Working from home complicates this issue but the CIPD’s magazine People Management offers some options including the pros and cons of more generous expense policies to support staff working from home.
Passion at work
Passion is what keeps us motivated, committed, and productive. We believe that purpose in particular matters, borne out by a survey undertaken on behalf of Personio by Opinium which found that 38% of employees are looking to change roles in the next year. The employee who combines passion with an authentic interest in and knowledge of their work and organization, will display enthusiasm for and commitment to their role and also the team and the enterprise at large.
Our CEO, Michael often uses the quote “find a job you love and you’ll never work again”; this is variously attributed to Confucius, Mark Twain and Winston Churchill, no matter it’s the sentiment that counts. Love your job and you’ll be happier and more productive, a better collaborative and creative worker, a good team player and more reliable.
Putting it all together
Simon Winfield of Hays UK told People Management magazine that “people are increasingly being motivated to work for businesses that prioritise social responsibility, doing good and having a clear purpose instead of more traditional motivators. Instead of competing on salary, employers need to compete on what they can offer talent in the long run”
Ensuring your organisation has high levels of employee engagement can make a big difference. Great Place to Work compared employee productivity from March to August of 2020, the first six months of stay-at-home orders, to the same six-month stretch in 2019. Remote work productivity was stable or increased when working remotely from home, according to a 2-year study of 800,000 employees.
At 10Eighty we believe that all employers should aim to provide a great place to work.
