Team motivation and engagement using Maslow

For the past year world-class performance Psychologists i2i and survey experts Scancapture have been working together exploring the complex psychoanalytical meaning behind employee engagement and how we can measure engagement and motivational levels using Maslow’s 1942 masterpiece on high performance. This imaginative initiative produces staggering results.

For many people the basic needs of a job are that the salary allows them to pay the bills and live a lifestyle they have become accustomed to. Having a sense of financial independence is innate in almost all of us with very few people brave enough to run a risk and disregard monetary reward in favour of other factors. This is our PHYSIOLOGICAL need.

Whilst the concept of a ‘job for life’ is all but dead, people generally crave security and structure in the workplace – and much like salary would put this above other aspects of a job.

Many larger employers have no issues satisfying those needs, especially when it comes to higher level positions. A big company recognises the importance of attracting the best talent. But what do you do once you have them? This is where Maslow’s needs theory really comes into play.

This leads us on to the thing that really enables individuals to engage with their job and the company they work for – a sense that there is a feeling of self ESTEEM by the contribution that they make to the organisation. This feeling of significance, especially within a large company is absolutely vital if a member of staff is going to feel any real affinity and advocacy towards their paymasters. If you make your staff feel as though they are integral to the company’s values and goals then that’s when you have reached the high engagement holy grail.

But how do you determine where on the Needs spectrum your employees actually are?

The easiest, quickest and most effective way of finding out is to carry out your Focus100 survey based around how your employees perceive their job and the values they attach to being part of the organisation as whole. Focus100 will not only give you this information but also allow you to rank your staff on the Needs Hierarchy and provide detailed guidelines on the actions required to move them up the ladder from ‘just surviving’ to highly engaged, productive individuals. Please get in touch, let us explain how we can quickly and easily bring the benefits of true engagement into your business.