Understanding engagement and motivation

Organisational benefits

• Engaged workgroups, compared to disengaged workgroups, perform lower costs related to sickness, absence, employee turnover, production errors, accidents and inefficient processes.  They also show improved productivity, customer satisfaction, customer retention and innovation. Put together, they deliver substantial benefits to the bottom-line performance of an organisation.

• A disengaged co-worker costs an organisation an average of USD 10 000 in profit annually. Organisations with high engagement are almost 80% more productive and 40% more profitable (AON Hewitt in HBR, 2013).

The source of engagement

Abraham Maslow (1908-70) linked motivation to values and needs. He argued that we as individuals, and in turn as an organisation, have two types of needs (see table).

• A basic need is something that is important to get in order to feel safe, happy and comfortable in our physical and social environment. We feel anxious and fearful when we are unable to satisfy these needs, which can lead to negative behaviours.

• A growth need is something we like to have in order to feel a sense of internal alignment and fulfilment about the contribution we are making in the world. Meeting these needs result in a deeper level of motivation as they allow us to be our best selves and become more fully who we are and want to be.

Levels of consciousness and development

All humans develop psychologically in stages. Each stage is associated with specific needs and results in the expression of different values to meet these needs. Therefore, depending on where we are in our development, we tend to prioritise different values.

Values-driven organisations creates engagement

• The key to co-worker engagement, according to Barrett, is to help co-workers to meet their basic needs and support them meeting their growth needs. That is to build a structure and nurture a culture (see Culture Model) that enables co-workers to take care of their families, form friendships with colleagues, excel at what they do best, nurture autonomy, find authenticity, meaning and purpose, have opportunities to make a difference, and if possible, leave a positive legacy.

• This is also what it means to become a values-driven organisation. It is, as an organisation, to stand up for and live values that enable co-workers to fully meet their needs. This creates engagement, which in turn makes the organisation more productive and successful.

Find out what drives you