Motivation is perhaps the most vital factor for any company. Motivated workers are keen to stretch themselves and take themselves — and their company — on to new heights.Motivation is perhaps the most vital factor for any company. Motivated workers are keen to stretch themselves and take themselves — and their company — on to new heights.

There’s a lot of talk today about motivation in the workplace. The issue is vital for every commercial organization, because it’s only through a truly motivated workforce that a firm can achieve its goals.

Marketing is, of course, important, along with proper research before projects are undertaken, but unless workers and management are prepared to give 100 percent, even the best laid plans will fall apart.

Every organization operating in the many increasingly competitive business fields in Russia needs to work out a program for motivating staff. A scheme of this kind works wonders for efficiency and profit-making.

Employers can motivate staff through performance-related salaries and benefits, all of which are starting to catch on in Russia. Then, there is the simple, old-fashioned factor of praise for a job well done and encouragement to repeat such success in the future.

As every employer knows, some workers are naturally well motivated, while others seem to need no end of encouragement just to turn up to work on time. So, I would advise companies to set up a simple but effective system of questioning at the interview stage that will ensure you only take on the most motivated workers.

The system allows every potential employee to be evaluated in such a way that you can work out to what extent they will be motivated before you decide to take them on.

All the interviewer needs to do is sit down with the potential employee, watch closely and take down the reaction as he or she asks three simple questions. Speed of response and the ability to formulate the answers quickly and clearly are both important factors.

Here are the questions: What makes people work in a more productive way? What kind of team works most efficiently? What characteristics should an ideal boss and employee possess?

The questions are not too personal, so they won’t put the potential employee on their guard too much. But if you sit down and take the time to weigh up the responses properly, you’ll discover everything you need to know about the interviewee.

The answers will reveal the person’s motivators: what makes them tick. They will show that person’s preferences and how they like to operate alongside coworkers.

Motivation, of course, is a complex issue. For example, the head of a department is likely to be motivated by financial factors, a desire to improve the efficiency of that department and the satisfaction gained from a job well done.

In my organization, the contribution of every department toward meeting the company’s targets can be seen clearly. Employees are motivated by salaries, pay bonuses and a share in sales achieved by the department they work in, as well as by the desire to reach goals.

Typically, workers in most companies are motivated by financial stimulation, a desire to achieve a certain aim and the simple enjoyment that comes with practicing their own particular expertise.

Bosses should assess these factors and take a regular look at what drives each member of the workforce. When a manager sees that an employee is mainly interested in financial reward, it is important to make some additional motivators. Without another factor to keep them working hard, this person is likely to leave the company at the first sign of difficulty in search of a more lucrative position elsewere.

On the other hand, when a worker is not getting sufficient financial reward for his efforts, he loses interest in his tasks and fails to achieve properly. Both of these types of employees will benefit from compliments from their boss or manager.

Some employees are very sensitive to criticism or praise, and employers should think carefully before either pointing out that these staff worked hard while performing a particular task or telling them the opposite. An employer should be very careful when criticizing this type of employee, because they can easily take these comments to heart and become unhappy in their work.

Meanwhile, when asking the three interview questions, look out for potential employees who appear to be too ambitious.

This can cause problems, because when a worker wants to be the center of the universe all day, this occupies their minds entirely and they become a constant source of friction with coworkers. In assessing the potential employee, you need to be careful that this person would not be in competition with their boss.

A final rule of motivation in the workplace is that unless an employee can see his objectives clearly, he won’t work to maximum effect. And that’s a factor that many bosses could easily improve.