I Need Motivation Theories

Our concern for the morale, enthusiasm, and

effectiveness of our sales team did not begin in

the last couple of problem years. We have had

and on-going, long-range communications system

that has kept management aware of what our sales

representatives are thinking, what their

attitudes are, how they feel about their jobs,

their mangers, their working conditions, and so

on. In short, We have been able to keep our

fingers on the motivational pulse of the sales

force on a continuing basis. I call it

"motivation through communication."

The Kraft sales organizational structure lends

itself to keeping a good communications network

open and effective. Unlike many companies, our

sales department is separate from marketing.

There is a direct line of communications from

the sales force through the levels of sales

management to my office. This enables us to

react quickly to the needs of our field sales

force.

Our "motivation through communication" system

begins with the training or our management at

all levels to be knowledgeable about and aware

of those factors that are measure of true

motivation, as well as those that are simply job

satisfiers. Job satisfiers are those things the

company provides to recruit and maintain good,

high-caliber employees. They involve:

· Salary
· Other compensation
· Job security
· Working conditions
· Company policies
· Social relationships

These, of course, are important; and unless

sales employees feel that these things are as

good or better than they can get with other

companies, we are likely to lose some of our

most capable people.

We at Kraft constantly monitor not only how our

people feel about these things but how our

benefits actually compare to what the industry

is doing and we try to stay competitive. For

instance, we just increased our medical benefits

and installed a good dental plan. We recently

found that our sales people wanted incentive

bonuses on a semiannual rather than an annual

basis. This provides a more proximate goal; and

the closer the goal, the more stimulating the

challenge.

Our managers know that these job satisfiers are

very relevant to recruiting and maintaining good

people. But they also are aware that these are

not the primary catalysts of productivity on the

job. It has been found, for example, that a

compensation increase only affects productivity

for a short period of time.

On the other hand, our managers know that the

real motivators are factors that are truly

significant in helping to increase productivity.

The real motivators are feelings that the

individual has about his or her job, feelings

like:

· My work has value, so I'm valuable.

· This is challenging work and I'm doing it

well.

· There's a good chance I'll be noticed for what

I do.

· I am getting better at this job.

· I am responsible for what does and what

doesn't happen.

Our management people have found that knowing

and understanding what truly motivates, helps

them to develop and implement a set of programs

that can positively influence these feelings and

thereby increase productivity. These programs

involve a series of communications that assist

management to measure and react to the level of

these feelings.

Published At: http://www.isnare.com