Understanding employee preferences: Know the hot buttons

We have talked about chatting with employees to read their attitude temperature, but why won’t employers do that? Sometimes, it might have to be because employers are afraid to. Managers just don’t want negative and even truthful feedback. An employer does not want to hear that an employee is unhappy. Why open that Pandora’s Box? Employers want to hear harmony, singing, and praise.

Negative feedback is exactly why employers don’t ask. They want to believe that nothing is as important to an employee but the job. In discussing what motivates employees, P. Korzynski in Employee Motivation in New Working Environment, states that employees, “…expect other people to communicate with them in a dynamic, two-way manner. It can be concluded that those leaders, who try to adjust to expectations of the new generation, can be more effective in motivating them”. L. W. Braksick states in her article Leading the New Generation, “More than anything, this generation requires coaching and feedback. If they don’t get it, they will leave for a place where they will get it”.  

Trust me when I tell you that every employee is strung a different way. Every employee has a different hot button. Some like pay, others praise, others challenges and it is the responsibility of the employer to figure those buttons out. Feedback and conversations are the best one-on-one way to do that. According to Kay and Jordan-Evans in their book Love’ em or Lose’ em, there are a series of hot buttons to consider:

• Exciting work and challenge
• Career growth, learning, and development
• Working with great people
• Fair pay
• Supportive management/good boss
• Being recognized, valued, and respected
• Benefits
• Meaningful work and making a difference
• Pride in the organization, its mission, and its product
• Great work environment and culture
• Autonomy, creativity, and sense of control
• Flexibility, work hours, dress, and so on
• Location
• Job security and stability
• Diverse, changing work assignments
• Fun on the job
• Being part of a team
• Responsibility
• Loyalty, commitment to the organization or coworkers
• Inspiring leadership.

It is the decision of employers to accept the challenge of asking employees those questions that elicit feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask and listen. Listen very carefully and consider.

The author, David Pollitt is a well-known author in leadership and educational circles. He is also known for his Christian Science fiction and secular Science fiction books.