Motivating staff can be a bit of a mystery.
Managers are often confused about what actually does motivate employees and even employees themselves might find this hard to pinpoint. This leads to an assumption among some that money is a motivational factor. However, research over the past several decades has fairly conclusively shown that this is not the case. Rather, employees are more likely to be motivated by intrinsic factors such as feeling appreciated, and advancement in their careers. With this in mind, the “AAA Motivation Battery” is a good model to use that can help with keeping staff motivated without breaking the bank!
The AAA Motivation Battery focuses on three primary areas, based on accessing intrinsic motivating factors within people. This is a triple A technique to energize teams, just as a battery provides energy. These triple A factors are:
Managers focus on these factors all too infrequently. If you ask managers if they acknowledge and appreciate their staff they will say, “Yes”, but actions speak louder, and many managers fail to follow-through.
It is not difficult to acknowledge that a person has done a good job and to show them appreciation. It does not have to cost anything to operate by the AAA Battery model. Yet this model creates a feeling of purpose and belonging for employees. This is increasingly important since a winning competitive edge is created through effective talent management and developing a worthwhile employee value proposition.
Managers need to step back and ensure that they are using the AAA motivation battery model, so they give the organization the greatest possible chance of competitive advantage through people. Each ‘A’ is explained in greater detail below:
Acknowledge – This is an area that managers overlook. Employees need meaning in their lives, and a reason to come to work every day. They need to know their purpose. If an employee understands how their contribution impacts others and organizational success, then they are more likely to feel that they have this meaning. Managers have a responsibility to acknowledge what employees do and to show them who it impacts within the organization and how. This helps employees build an emotional attachment to their work, leading to improvements in performance. Managers that acknowledge individual employee contribution and team participation will naturally be more effective at motivating staff. This ultimately drives productivity and performance of the individual.
Appreciation – Showing appreciation for employees costs nothing. It takes almost no time and no money at all to say thank you for a job well done. When managers do this, they are expressing the value of the employee’s efforts for the company and its stakeholders. If monetary rewards are available to offer as a token of appreciation, then that is excellent. If not, types of non-monetary reward could be offered, such as giving a person an extra day off.
Advance – Most people want to feel as though they are advancing and achieving something in their careers. Managers can help people progress in their careers by offering development opportunities. While the first thought might be, “That is too expensive!” with external courses in mind, development options can be created within the firm. These include providing on-the-job training, offering opportunities that allow development, such as stretch tasks, and providing access to internal courses.
Developing employees in this way helps them to feel that they are getting something back for their efforts, as well as increasing their skills and competencies. Overall this increases motivation, engagement, and organizational commitment. These employees are also more likely to be productive as they are better skilled to do their jobs.
As can be seen, there are many benefits of the AAA Motivation Battery model to the organization.
In summary, these include motivation and engagement of staff and more energized employees. Employees that are more engaged and energized are proven to be more productive, to provide better quality in their work, and to offer improved customer service. All of this leads to better results and increased profitability for the firm. It also makes the organization a better place to be with an improved corporate culture. Meanwhile there are fewer conflicts and resentments among staff, and better employee retention.
The AAA Motivation Battery pack is a very simple, yet extremely effective approach for managers to take in motivating employees and delivering organizational success.
