"Why don't more managers ask?" Kaye wonders. "They don't ask because they're afraid of what they'll be told." They worry that their stars will want a raise when there's no money in the budget or a promotion where none exists.
As it turns out, what employees want and what their bosses think they want, surveys reveal, tend to diverge wildly. If you don't ask, you won't have a clue. Not only do we want different things, but our answers are subtly shaded and ever changing. We are complex individuals who pursue all sorts of different things: challenges, lifestyles, opportunities to learn, variety. To motivate us, you'll have to get under our skins.
"One problem is the creation of linear models for motivation -- as if people lead linear lives," says Donald Novak, a founding director of the Exetor Group and an organizational-development consultant. In most organizations, employees climb carefully orchestrated hierarchies. "And that is probably the biggest affront to multifaceted people, because they are constantly changing. Their employers have to keep pace."
If you do ask, you'll find that much of what we want doesn't cost so much to give. It's more a matter of thinking differently about how we work. "We're not talking about a group that you have to find lots of things for," says Novak. "It usually doesn't have to do with resources. It's about the corporate mentality of cautiousness."
The best employees, Novak observes, are risk takers. They are connectors who reach out and invent new things. When business gets bleak, many companies discourage risk takers by rewarding caution and by erecting barriers that thwart connections.
So here's an idea. Want to motivate us? Don't worry about the money (for now). Try getting out of our way instead. Keith H. Hammonds
If you're a top executive, your biggest priority should be positioning yourself for the next gig. That means going out nicely -- no public acrimony, no lawsuits. If a public statement covering your departure is to be issued, the phrases "by mutual agreement" and "strategic differences" can put the best face on your untimely exit.
Jim Citrin, a recruiter who heads the technology practice at Spencer Stuart, advises one thing more: Don't be greedy. "No financial settlement is worth having your reputation forever tarnished," Citrin says. "Failing is one thing; failing and being greedy about it is never a good combination."
If you're not leaving the executive suite, greed probably isn't an option. Most likely, you will have little choice but to accept the standard severance package. But if your termination isn't part of a wholesale downsizing, that package may be open to negotiation. "People don't like firing other people," Citrin explains. "So if you realize how uncomfortable your boss is, you can use that to your advantage. Play to that person's humanistic side. Try to find a way to get the most attractive package possible."
If generous severance pay is out of the question, negotiate for other departure perks. Ask your boss to be a reference or to write a generic note of recommendation for future employers. Better yet, ask your boss to place a call or two on your behalf. Get him to tap into his network. Those calls may lead to your next job -- and they might make your boss feel better about canning you. Keith H. Hammonds
Memo from: Nick Corcodilos, author, headhunter, and publisher of the Web site Ask the Headhunter.
To: Hiring managers everywhere
Re: Reinventing the job interview
The purpose of any interview is simple: to determine whether the candidate can do the job profitably. A smart interview is not an interrogation. It's not a series of canned questions or a set of scripted tests that have been ginned up by HR. An interview should be a roll-up-your-sleeves, hands-on meeting between you and the candidate, where all of the focus is on the job. Think of the interview as the candidate's first day at work, with the only question that matters being this: "What's your business plan for doing this job?"
To successfully answer that, the candidate must first demonstrate an understanding of the company's problems, challenges, and goals -- not an easy thing to do. But since you desperately want to make a great hire and get back to work, why don't you help the best candidate succeed? Two weeks before the interview, call up the candidate and say the following: "We want you to show us how you're going to do this job. That's going to take a lot of homework. I suggest that you read through these 10 pages on our Web site, review these publications from our marketing and investor-relations departments, and speak with these three people on my team. When you're done, you should have something useful to tell us." This will eliminate 9 out of 10 candidates. Only those who really want the job will put in the effort to research the job.
At the interview, you should expect (or hope) to hear the most compelling question that any candidate can ask: "Would you like me to show how your company will profit from hiring me?" The candidate should be prepared to do the job in the interview. That means walking up to the whiteboard and outlining the steps that he or she would take to solve your company's problems. The numbers don't have to be right, but the candidate should be able to defend them intelligently. If the candidate demonstrates an understanding of your culture and competitors -- and lays out a plan of attack for solving your problems and adding something to your bottom line -- you have some awfully compelling reasons to make the hire. But if you trust only a candidate's references, credentials, or test results, you still won't know whether the candidate can do the job.
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