We are visiting a host of topics around recruitment, retention, employee wants and now we will take the perspective of the employer. If you are new to this substack, welcome and please consider subscribing.
Employers Wants. By “wants” I mean the characteristics that are held in most high esteem by employers in their employees, their teammates.
I have been a big fan of a number of great and practical business writers from Pat Lencione to Peter Drucker and a host of others in between. I respect those that are “doer’s” and not pure academics while at the same time, I rely on the business literature to shape around those who have actually done. It’s an imperfect approach but then again so is science but it has worked for me.
In the next few posts, we will explore employer wants. This first post will be a bit more extensive then the others and focus exclusively on what I believe is the most important “want” characteristic.
Employe Want #1: Employees who are inspired.
Most prefer or express that they want an engaged employee and I think this is because we have been spoiled by Gallup and their research. Both are desirable but inspired have many additional features as we shall detail and are in it for the long game. An inspired employee is someone who feels a deep sense of purpose and passion for their work. They are most differentiated by being intrinsically motivated and finding meaning in what they do beyond just the paycheck or external rewards. Inspired employees are driven by a strong sense of personal fulfillment and are more likely to go above and beyond in their work. In the days of shortages of physical therapists, I believe distinguishing intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation will be best correlated to longevity provided you have pathways that soothe these intrinsic desires-mastery, leadership, and having a piece of the rock are the top three most expressed in my experience.
By contrast, an engaged employee is someone who is committed to their work and the organization. They are involved in their work, enthusiastic about their tasks, and often have a positive attitude towards their job and colleagues. Engaged employees are more likely to be productive, loyal, and contribute to a positive work environment. Overall, Gallup’s research suggests that employee engagement is a critical factor in organizational success, leading to higher productivity, better customer outcomes, and a healthier workplace. According to Gallup’s most recent State of the Global Workplace report, which was based on data collected from 2018 to 2020, the percentage of engaged workers in the United States was 36%. This means that just over one-third of American workers were engaged in their jobs during that time period. An inspired employee and an engaged employee are both valuable to an organization, but they represent slightly different aspects of employee motivation and commitment. When a measure is 36% and relies exclusively on a third party trademarked survey to assess, it ceases to be practical which is another reason why “inspired” is preferred.
Admittedly, we have zero research on the percentage of inspired employees. We can, however, determine and even measure through a proxy in terms of determining whether somebody is intrinsic vs. extrinsically motivated. Extrinsically motivated is not truly a “bad” characteristic and organizations have plenty of them and do fine. In today’s competitive PT environment, this might result though in the extrinsic employee trolling the jobs posts and leaving for ever more perks and comp down hte street-just sayin’! My preference is to build an organization more around those that beat to the internal drum. How can you discern? The key is structured interviews and the use of validated instruments. The most typical way to hire is interviews and resumes, but research tells us those are absolutely the most unreliable. Interviews, though, can be very useful if structured through pre-processed questions that you have culled and agreed upon through consensus on the type of answers you are hopeful are elicited. Here is a potential list to help glean our “instrinsics”:
- What aspects of this role or industry are most appealing to you, and why?
- Can you describe a time when you were highly motivated to achieve a goal? What drove that motivation?
- How do you prioritize your professional development and learning opportunities?
- What types of recognition or rewards are most meaningful to you in a work setting?
- Do you prefer tasks that challenge you and require problem-solving, or those that offer clear, tangible rewards?
- How important is it for you to feel a sense of personal accomplishment in your work?
To measure intrinsic and extrinsic motivation more objectively, you can use validated instruments. The use of personality inventories and other tests have skyrocketed over the years. I am not suggesting you use them as a hire or no hire but rather understanding wiring or one’s behavioral framework. Structured interviews can guide your hiring and instruments and inventories can guide further mentoring counseling, and development post-hire. It is always good to know how to understand behavioral DNA: how one likes to be rewarded and recognized, personality type of dominance vs. passivity, external vs. internal orientation, degree of detail, and sense of urgency. Specific to instrinsic vs. external motivation, these are some great tools:
- The Self-Determination Theory Scale (SDT): This scale assesses the degree to which an individual’s behavior is self-determined or controlled. It can help determine if someone is more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.
- The Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS): This scale measures the degree to which people are motivated by intrinsic versus extrinsic factors in the workplace.
- The Motivation at Work Scale (MAWS): This scale assesses both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the context of work.
- The General Causality Orientations Scale (GCOS): This scale measures individual differences in the degree to which people are motivated by intrinsic versus extrinsic factors in various life domains.
What are some additional characteristics about Inspired Employees beyond motivation? I prefer Dov Seidman’s definition:
Inspired Employees: Authentically Dedicated, Deeply Accountable, Fully Responsible.
Adding dedication, accountability, and responsibility to this definition provides additional meaning and makes for a great construct and adds further fuel to why I believe this to be the most important Employer Want! You can define dedicated, accountability, and responsibility and measure them in performance appraisals and surveys. In my experience the extra effort to emphasize, recruit, and develop “inspired employees” is well worth it.
Thoughts? Experiences?
What is your #1 Want?
Next post will explore other employer wants in an employee.
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larry
