Work.com: Show Me More Than Just The Money!

 So you've done your salary research, have more than enough hiring budget allocated, put out financially attractive job offers and…. people reject them?  What have you got to do?  Answer, show them more than just the money.  It's no longer all about that.  But then what is it all about?

More important than money!

This Infographic from Rypple - now Work.com - brought the point home to me that money is not what motivates me, nor many of my colleagues.  It makes the point that recognition is the most important factor in motivating employees.  In fact,  in a study by the Reserve Bank of Boston, 69 per cent of employees surveyed said they would work harder if they were better recongised; yet sadly some 52 per cent said they did not feel fairly recognized. Oh dear.

 Reading this article in Forbes magazine on the same topic, it becomes clear that there are so many other reasons why employees get out of bed in the morning and most of them have nothing to do with pay.  Number 8, for instance, is Impact:

“As employees reflect on their lives and careers – they want to contribute in ways that measure their achievements based upon the long-term benefits that the company they serve bears.”

Writing this blog has given me cause to think more carefully about where I’m at. After all I’ve been here at Salesforce for almost three years. (Which in the IT industry almost makes me a lifer!)   I'm still pretty engaged and motivated so I took time to think about why that was.  What was motivating me?  The interesting point to all of this is that money wasn't the first thing that came to mind....

1. I really love working with the people I work with; I'm surrounded by smart, funny and capable people and when we get together to bounce ideas off one another, we come up with some pretty cool ideas
2. I’m still entertained!  I have new tech to play all the time which keeps my code tinkering habits satisfied and I’m always being challenged by keeping at the technology cutting edge.
3. The Vibe of it (have you seen The Castle?) Things feel positive, fun and that I’m heading somewhere.  I feel I’m making “Impact”.

 But I’m a sample size of 1 and I can’t speak for everyone here.  Ultimately, it all rounds up to one thing: happiness.  In the Forbes article they summed this up pretty well:

 “In the end, happiness is one of the greatest motivations to achieve.  Happiness fuels ones self-esteem and gives people hope for a better tomorrow. ”