How do you recruit motivated staff?

By Sarah Stones at Plain Sailing MotivationRecruiting someone with the right skills and knowledge for the role is one thing - recruiting someone with the right skills and knowledge who is also motivated in the right way to support your business and who will be a great fit with your team is something else.

Nine motivators

In addition to identifying the key skills and experience your ideal candidate requires to make a successful contribution to your business, you need to pinpoint what they need to be motivated by to enable them to be successful in the role.

Understanding what motivates a candidate also gives you the knowledge and insight to be able to manage that person in the right way to maintain and importantly, retain, that high level of motivation they possess on their first day.

Why is motivation so important?

We all have nine different motivators (see image above) that affect our attitude to risk, change and our focus when making decisions. Understanding which motivators are important for the role and the organisation and then finding someone with those motivators, in addition to the right skills and experience for the role, makes a huge difference for that candidate, for the team and ultimately for your business.

For example, if your business is very dynamic and ever changing to meet the needs of your clients, then you need someone who will enjoy working in changing environment and relish problem solving and thinking outside the box (The Creator motivator).

If you already have a lot of blue-sky thinkers in your organisation, then you may need someone who is good at establishing routine and order and ensuring things get done (The Defender motivator)

If you need someone who is competitive and target driven, someone with a high Builder motivator will enjoy this role and if your business relies on building strong professional relationships recruiting someone with a high Friend motivator is important.

Understanding motivation is the key to high performing individuals and teams

High performance is the result of everyone having:

  1. Clear objectives

  2. The correct level of skills for the role

  3. A high level of motivation

Managers can ensure individuals and teams have SMART objectives and can recruit staff with the correct skills for the role. However, it is not so easy to figure out what motivates individuals to come to work. If someone has poor levels of motivation, this affects their own health and happiness as well as their performance at work. It also directly impacts on the team’s performance, affecting its ability to provide a high-quality service.

The Motivational Maps® tool provides a motivation and management diagnostic that enables organisations to understand, motivate and lead their employees more effectively - the positive outcomes of these diagnostics being twofold:

  • the individuals completing them become more self-aware, happier and more productive

  • leaders understand what needs to be done to boost performance and thereby increase positive outcomes.

The reports that are generated are a key tool for personal development, enabling people to understand what they need from work to realise their full potential. Understanding the different motivators and how they impact on the ways people work can help managers resolve conflict within teams, reducing stress points and boosting the health and wellbeing of individuals whilst at work.

Work with a Motivation Specialist to recruit motivated staff

Working with you, we help you to think about how your ideal candidate needs to be motivated to be successful in their role. For example:

  • Do they need to enjoy a job that requires a high level of attention to detail?

  • Do they need to be motivated by developing and maintaining strong relationships?

  • Do they need to enjoy achieving targets?

  • Do they need to enjoy being able to develop high levels of expertise?

  • Do they need to be good at following clear instructions or be able to work by themselves?

  • Do they need to know they are making a difference?

We use the unique, and highly accurate tool called a Motivational Map® which enables us to discover what motivates your candidates and you can then determine if their motivators will be met by the role.

Why should you use Motivational Maps® as part of your recruitment process?

Motivational Map® reports show you what motivates an individual and how you can support and manage them when they have joined you to ensure they remain as highly motivated as when they started work. The reports enable you to delve below the surface level and find out what drives an individual.

What is the difference between a personality profile and a Motivational Map® report?

Our personality isn’t what gets us out of bed in the morning - it is our motivation - so understanding what motivates us is crucial.

Motivational Maps® provide a unique system to enable people, teams and organisations understand, measure and maximise their motivations and performance. The Mapping tool is not a personality test or a psychometric profiling tool. It is a self-perception inventory which gives an insight into the core motivation of a person and “what makes them tick”. Unlike personality, people’s motivations change - so mapping should be repeated on a regular basis. They add another key dimension to the appraisal or performance review process.

To find out more please contact Sarah Stones 

www.plainsailingmotivation.co.uk