Measuring Motivation – the Missing Piece of the Talent Management Puzzle

Keeping all of your employees happy can often seem like an impossible task.

Whatever the business, whatever the sector, maintaining a fully motivated team at all times is something that is difficult and requires lots of thought and effort.

Equally difficult is ensuring that the people you are bringing into your company are the right people for you.

Will they fit in? Are they with you for the long-term? Are they motivated to do the job?

Talent Management is all about getting – and keeping – the right people for your organisation.

Even the biggest organisations have been guilty of falling into the most common mistake when taking-on new staff. Hiring someone for their skills and, ultimately, firing them for their attitude.

Think about it. The cost of hiring and firing someone is – conservatively – 1.5 times a ‘general’ salary and as much as 10 times a senior salary.

So getting the right talent into your company really has never been so important.

How much of a risk are you taking when you hire someone? Sure, you know all about their skills and experience and you’ve had a positive interview with them.

But what is their motivation?

Research from the Institute of Work and Motivation (iWAM) suggests that an individual’s motivation and attitude account for at least 40% of their overall working performance.

And yet, motivation is something that is often largely ignored, with most psychological tests on the market not built to measure attitude.

Instead, these tools measure personality; not a good indicator of working performance.

To hire and keep top talent, you need to think about a candidate or employee’s motivation and attitude to work – and not just their skills-set.

Only then can you start to expect to witness that most elusive of things; a fully happy – and motivated – working team.

Our FREE Report explains how you can fully understand an individual’s motivation before you hire them, how you can avoid the mistakes that so many others can make and how you gain an advantage over your competitors.

Katherine Wiid, founder of Recrion, is a specialist in recruitment and selection techniques and motivation pattern recognition.  She can be contacted on +44 (0)1780 484910 or by email.