Facing the Interview Question: How Do You Motivate Employees? Seeking Your Advice

Hi Seniors,

Recently in an interview, I have faced the question, "How can you motivate employees?" How can I answer this question? I am seeking suggestions.

Thanks & Regards

The best we can do is to stop demotivating them and to remove all obstacles to self-motivation.

If employers want a workforce of self-motivated employees, they need to hire for talent, which means hiring employees who are motivated by the job.

Bob Gately, PE, MBA
gately@csi.com

Hi Praveen,

Motivation is a function of internal and external factors. Internal factors are particularly those that describe a person, such as his passion, commitment, needs, etc., which make a person self-motivated. Internal factors are basically beyond our area of influence.

What we can influence, as HR professionals, are the external factors for motivation. Those are:
a) The job content and the career growth model to suit a person's aspirations in line with the organizational goals.
b) Creating a framework for positive reinforcements towards the drive for excellence, i.e., the reward and recognition mechanism.
c) Fostering a culture of trust in the organization.
d) Creating a fun environment in the workplace.
e) And, needless to mention, by way of designing an adequate and competitive C&B structure.

Thanks,
Abhisek