Money talks to fewer than one in five workers, with most rating workplace culture as the main motivator according to Ian Gooden’s new retention research.
All the signs are that the traditional career ladder has had its day. Flatter structures mean fewer managers. And with lower staff turnover a reality and longer working lives on the horizon (not least due to the abolition of the DRA) those remaining manager jobs are going to be freed up far less often.
Careers are more likely to be a ride on a carousel, with moves up, down and sideways. As a result, employers need to look again at what really drives people at work. The key task for HR professionals is to identify exactly what will motivate employees to deliver their best in our new flatter world.
Our latest research, Riding the career carousel,[1] explores what matters most to people at work, the premise being that no matter how well qualified or skilled someone is they will only deliver optimum performance if they are motivated to do so. While we all want a lot of things from work, our new career motivation model places over 90% of individuals in one of five primary motivation groups.
Socialisers
For Socialisers, what an organisation does, how big it is or how well known it is come well down the list of career energisers. Rather, they are concerned with culture – in particular with their relationships with colleagues and managers. So basing your recruiting strategy on scale, reputation and product/service brand could leave them cold.
According to our research 41.3% of UK workers are Socialisers. Women are around 1.5 times more likely than men to show this as their primary career motivation group. Half place themselves in this group as compared to just over a third of men.
Above all else, Socialisers need to enjoy what they do. A big part of that is being in a team they love working with. In fact our research suggests that Socialisers probably associate themselves with their immediate team much more than with the organisation as a whole.
From an engagement perspective this means the hard work has to be put in at local level. Socialisers judge their employer by how it treats them and their immediate team.
Achievers
Achievers make up around 8.5% of the UK workforce with men slightly more likely to fall into this category (9.3%) than women (7.6%). They are driven by the need for personal and career growth. They crave change and relish the opportunity to take on new and stretching challenges. They want constantly changing tasks and challenges – and quickly become bored if this need isn’t satisfied. They also expect a clear career path and will sometimes see personal growth as more important than immediate financial reward.
When choosing employers, Achievers are largely unimpressed with the size and reputation of an organisation. Rather they are concerned by what the employer can offer them personally in terms of training, experiences and challenge. So hiring Achievers requires the process to be highly tailored and candidate-centric.
Protectionists
One in five employees are Protectionists, driven by a need for certainty and security of employment. They have a complex view on this – having a job, on its own, is often not enough. They need certainty about the type of job they have and also the way that it is performed and how it fits into their lifestyle. In general it can be seen as a desire for the ‘status quo’ – giving a sense of stability and order to their lives.
Around 19% of the UK workforce are primarily motivated by these security needs, a figure that is fairly consistent between men and women. Our research also suggests that Protectionists are likely to stick around – almost 60% say they don’t anticipate leaving within the next five years.
Work-life balance is their number one priority – just marginally ahead of overall job security. This is reinforced by the clear message that many choose their jobs to fit around their lifestyle, which perhaps explains why having a clear job role is so important to them.
Materialists
Money talks for fewer than one in five workers: Materialists also often need not only to be high but also predictable earners – making them low career risk takers. Overall, 18.4% of respondents rated this as their primary motivation category. Here, there is a big gender difference. Men (22.9%) are almost twice as likely as women (12.0%) to be Materialists.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, over two thirds of materialists (67.1%) are employed in the private sector – contrasting starkly with just 2.6% who work for not-for- profit organisations. Achievement (such as personal development and challenging objectives) is also of high importance to Materialists. So, any situation where poor (or slow growing) pay is combined with low job security and/or lack of personal challenge is likely to re-focus the energy of a materialist away from your role and towards finding a new job.
True believers
Just 6% of the working population falls into this category. For them what an organisation stands for and the brand come first. True Believers tell us that working for an organisation with the right image is more important than financial reward. Indeed our research indicates they will accept lower pay to get in to an organisation that has the right public profile.
Time to act
This research has implications across the HR agenda spanning recruitment, engagement, organisational development and career management.
- Does your candidate management process in these days of ATS systems reflect the personal touch so desired by Socialisers? Do you look at motivation type in the selection process and then use your knowledge to consider how well a person will fit with your culture?
- Do your managers understand what motivates their teams and do they make sure they reflect this in their leadership style? Or do they assume everyone is motivated in the same way as them? Consider building motivational indicators into your employee survey.
- Does your team fit the pattern of the overall UK workforce or are they predominantly Achievers or Materialists? Knowing the answer will help you shape the way you manage your people – for example are you better off investing in team building or skills training?
The research clearly highlights the different approaches each motivation group take to change - from Achievers who see change largely as opportunity, to Protectionists who are likely to see mainly threat. If you are planning to offer voluntary redundancy you need to anticipate that Achievers might be the most likely to volunteer – confident as they are in their value elsewhere. True Believers by contrast will probably be last in line – they love the place so much they want, and need, to stay. The problem is this may not be reflected in the value they bring to the organisation.
The link between engagement and career management is stronger than ever. We need to help individuals re-vision their career – focusing on the realities of work in the post-recession era.
[1] www.chiumento.co.uk/Attachments/Riding%20the%20career%20carousel%20-%20January_Layout%201.pdf