March Madness

The time has come. The final four is set, and billions of dollars have been lost in multiple offices around the nation. Seriously!? Billions? Yes. According to a consultant firm, an estimated $3.8 billion will be lost during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (more commonly known as March Madness). This may seem like a lot but add up all the minutes of all the employees who are watching the live streaming games (free through CBS.com) or are checking their brackets on ESPN.com and the lost dollars start adding up. So what can a manager do to motivate employees to stay focused (whether it’s March or not)? Well keep reading…

Maslow and Herzberg

Take any Intro to Management class and the chances are the first few days you’ll learn about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory. Maslow outlines the needs of humans in pyramid style with basic needs at the bottom and more specific needs towards the top. Herzberg’s two factors do sort of the same thing however his two factors are either motivators or hygiene factors. Both will be explained more later.

[Don't] Show Me the Money

Contrary to popular belief (and according to Maslow and Herzberg), money is NOT a primary motivator for employees. Author, psychologist, and business man Dr. Clotaire Rapaille supports this theory in his book, The Culture Code. He states “Money alone is the worst reward for an American employee.” Why? Well according to Herzberg, salary is a hygiene factor (a factor that does not motivate if present, but, if absent, results in demotivation). So salary is important but should not be used as a reward to not watch basketball in March. So if not money, then what?

The obvious answer would be to address the motivating factor and not the hygiene factor? But how? Well Dr. Rapaille offers some tips based on how our culture operates. He says that promotions and accolades should come with responsibilities that may help the employee to do a more effective job. This is right on track with the theories that were previously discussed. A manager shouldn’t just reward or promote an employee with money; they should tap into the appropriate motivator for that specific employee. In addition, employers should put a premium on keeping staff inspired as well as holding regular staff meetings that listen to employees’ input. Both of these give the employees a feeling that they are an integral part of a company’s success, which is a HUGE motivator that managers can target. The employee will feel a sense of ownership and greater responsibility and hopefully watch less sports in the office.

There is no “I” in Team (but there should be!)

Another important way to motivate employees is to address them and reward them as individuals and not as a team. This may go against a lot of people’s beliefs, however it makes sense. For example, if a team reward is to go off to a resort if a certain level is hit, the employee will only carry his weight in the group and no more. He only needs to work hard enough to achieve the trip and then he’ll just do average. However if he is motivated on a personal level, he will attempt to address his motivation factors (maybe subconsciously) and work harder than if he was part of a team.

Back to the Madness

I believe knowing these factors and how employees are motivated is only the first step to keeping employees motivated and focused on work and not basketball. But there is no “one size fits all” handbook for managers. I believe each manager must tailor a program that fits each individual employee and doesn’t reward with money or restrictions (by outright banning of watching games in the office). A great example of this is a creative approach a CEO took in Baltimore, Maryland (Read story here). He got in on the madness and held on office-wide pool with the winner receiving a vacation getaway. His theory was that it’s better to address the issue upfront and allow for a little watching on breaks, as opposed to watching games while working (more like not working). It also prevents employees from partying too hard and not coming in to work the next day. Two birds with one stone… I like it.

So What?

I believe a lot can be taken away from fact that nearly $4 billion will be lost this year due to a basketball tournament. It shows that Americans love their sports as much as their jobs (maybe more). It also shows that managers need to always be on their toes thinking of creative ways they can keep their employees motivated and focused, yet still allow them space to breathe when events such as March Madness come around.

-Austin