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This Article Isn’t Really About Capturing Actual Bees!

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of helping many managers with motivation in my management development work. It is an important topic that I talk about a lot on this blog. It’s also a critical area of responsibility that many managers struggle with at some point in their careers. So, this article is about your employees and motivation.

However, while I won’t be talking about how you can catch actual bees, I will use bees and honey as an analogy for managing employees and motivation. First, though you’ll have to go on a little journey with me before I explain how bees, honey and vinegar relate to management, employees, and motivation. I promise to bring it all together!

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The Truth About Money and Workplace Motivation

Over the years, I’ve found that many managers do not understand what it truly takes to create a working environment that promotes employee motivation. (I know I certainly did not understand what to do when I started in management.)

To get the attention of the managers I sought to help about how motivation truly works, I often introduced my training seminars by making what SEEMED TO BE a crazy and frankly wrong statement about employee motivation.

Here’s what I would purposely say to those managers:

Over the long term, money is not the most powerful motivator of your employees.

With every training seminar that I did, the reactions from those managers coming to me for help was almost always the same. They looked at me as if I had lost my mind!

Their faces showed a range of emotions that generally went from confusion (Why did he say that!) to irritation (This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about!). I would sometimes stretch out this introduction by telling the group that understanding the long term limitation of money on motivation was important to their success.

Reinforcing my introduction in this way never changed those managers’ facial expressions. In fact, almost always, the managers listening to me just looked at me with more confusion and irritation. To get these managers to accept what I had to say, I would challenge them with a  followup question.

Here’s what I would say to them: How many of you know a place where you can make more money but you choose not to work there because you don’t like something about the way they operate?

I always smiled as I saw the doubt and irritation leave the managers’ faces. At this point, I had their attention and agreement and I could move on to discuss various areas of workplace motivation with them.

As you’re reading this, I hope you too are with me on this point. It’s probably true for you too that as a manager once you can take care of your needs and the needs of your family, money (while still important) isn’t your only long term concern in your workplace.

If you were considering taking another managerial job, some combination of the following would probably be important concerns for you:

• Concerns about your potential boss (Can you work for him or her? Will he or she support you? Is he or she viewed favorably in the organization?)
• Concerns about your potential organization (Does it function properly? Will this position help your overall career? Will the organization be around in the future?)
• Concerns about your potential employees (Will you have the staffing levels you need? Can the employees do the work? Will you be coming into any difficult employee situations?)

You may know a place that will hire you as a manager and even pay you more. But, if most of your answers to the questions I raised above is “no”, then you will think long and hard about taking that better paying job. If you don’t have a pressing financial need in your life, you may come to the conclusion that it’s much better to stay in your current job where you’ll make less but be happier and more productive.

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The Secret to Improving Employee Motivation, Cooperation and Loyalty

Here’s the motivation takeaway for you as a manager: Things are no different with your employees!

Once their financial needs are met, your employees have other important long term concerns that aren’t that different from your own. In fact, your employees are probably continually evaluating whether to stay with you by assessing the following:

• Can they continue to work for you? (Will you support them? Will you give them the resources they need? Can you manage the unit?)
• Can they continue to work for your organization? (Does your organization support you in your role and employees in general? Will it help their career? Will it be around in the future?)
• Can they continue to work with your other employees? (Will the other employees do their work? Does the group work well together? Are there difficult co-worker situations that aren’t getting resolved?)

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that money isn’t important to your employees. It is important.

Employees want fair pay and this is often their first concern.  The importance of money to employees is particularly relevant when employees are starting their careers, establishing themselves in their communities, and during times of financial challenge. Fair pay is also a continuing concern of people even when they are making a good salary.

Here’s what I am saying, however: While money is very important to employees, it can’t be all that you focus on to create a motivating work environment. As your employees’ financial needs are met, there will be other things in the workplace that are also very important to them. Workplace factors around (1) how you supervise and support them and (2) what it’s like to work in your unit and in the overall organization will take on greater importance to them. The more positive (sweeter) these factors are for your employees, the greater your chances will be of improving workplace motivation and employee retention.

So, what’s the conclusion on what it takes to get and maintain employee loyalty and cooperation over the long term?

Here’s my advice: If you really want to keep your employees and reduce voluntary turnover, find ways to reward them in multiple areas.

Or, as some people like to say: You’ll get more bees with honey than you ever will with vinegar!
If you really want to keep your employees, treat them well. Even nature teaches us that you get more bees with honey than with vinegar. Share on X

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