{"id":11700,"date":"2022-09-02T11:43:31","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T09:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=11700"},"modified":"2025-12-12T18:11:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T17:11:01","slug":"motivation-at-the-heart-of-your-employee-engagement-strategy","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/blog\/motivation-at-the-heart-of-your-employee-engagement-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivation: at the heart of your employee engagement strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull blog-2025-header\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Motivation: at the heart of your employee engagement strategy<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2>TAGLIST BLOCK<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n<h2>Automatic H2 List Table of Content<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<h2>Author Metadata<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group recap-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\r\n<p><strong>Le r\u00e9cap de l&#8217;article<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Let&#8217;s discover together in this article the importance of motivation at the heart of employee engagement.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"big-green-p\">\r\n<div class=\"quote\">\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People don\u2019t buy what you do, they buy why you do it<\/span><\/i>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #21304e; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;\">Simon Sinek<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is widely understood by leaders and organisations that employees who are motivated to work will ultimately be more satisfied, fulfilled and happier in their jobs, thus providing a plethora of benefits to the organisation (great place to work, enhanced productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced turnover\u2026 the list goes on!). <\/span>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 28px;\"><b><i>The two facets of motivation<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When discussing motivation, it\u2019s important to consider the two principal driving forces:\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Intrinsic motivation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">refers to our internal drive to do something, perhaps because we find it interesting and\/or enjoy doing it. This could be a desire for learning, innovating or collaborating with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Extrinsic motivation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the other hand are those external forces (i.e. incentives) that motivate us. These could be positive, such as feedback, pay-rises &amp; benefits, or an aversion to negative consequences, such as wanting to avoid an angry manager.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the workplace, both kinds of motivators are of course important &#8211; feedback and pay-rises are essential to recognising employee efforts. Nevertheless, research suggests how in the long run intrinsic motivation may be more important, making employees more likely to stay and perform better \u00b9.<\/span>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 28px;\"><b><i>Understanding the link between motivation and engagement<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tapping into employees\u2019 internal motivation is therefore key to reaping the benefits that motivation in the workplace can bring. To do so, understanding the link between employee motivation and <a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/solution\/listen\/\">employee engagement<\/a> is a crucial first step.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is engagement?<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a workplace context, engagement refers to \u201ca positive emotional state that yields a feeling of energy and leads to positive work-oriented behaviours\u201d \u00b2. Essentially, engagement can be seen as the middle-man, a \u201cstate\u201d, lying between specific motivational factors (what\u2019s driving us) and our desired behaviour.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assessing the level of employee engagement is an essential baseline measure, enabling organisations to gauge how employees are feeling with regards to their work and the company. Of course alone, this information is insufficient. A simple \u201cengagement score\u201d is useful and necessary to have, but understanding precisely <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">why <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">employees are engaged or disengaged, what aspects of their working life are they satisfied or dissatisfied with, is essential to taking action. This is what <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/solutions\/employee-survey\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zest&#8217;s survey tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers. <\/span>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 28px;\"><b><i>Understanding what motivates your employees<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communication is key. To discover what really motivates your employees at work, ask them! Find out what the most important motivators are for your employees and notably, how they rate the organisation on this topic. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/solution\/listen\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Key Drivers feature (part of Zest\u2019s Listen pillar)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> makes it easy to identify what drives employees and see the highest and lowest scores for the company. Remember that motivators will differ between individuals and will undoubtedly change over time. <\/span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11664 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-1024x594.png\" alt=\"Levier de motivation\" width=\"1024\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-1024x594.png 1024w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-768x446.png 768w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-276x160.png 276w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-103x60.png 103w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-431x250.png 431w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-1100x638.png 1100w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation-720x418.png 720w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Quadrant-leviers-de-motivation.png 1186w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 28px;\"><b><i>4 key ways to enhance motivation<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we saw earlier, tapping into what drives employees internally is key to enhancing motivation and engagement. Let\u2019s take a look at some examples of ways to enhance intrinsic motivation in the workplace \u00b3. <\/span>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong><i>Autonomy<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People have a basic psychological need to feel that they have control over their own behaviour, although this doesn\u2019t necessarily have to mean that they must be independent of others \u2074. Providing employees with ownership over their own work can help to demonstrate trust in the employee-employer relationship and can be hugely rewarding to the employee. This need is close to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/blog\/psychological-safety-the-key-to-boosting-the-effectiveness-of-your-teams-organisation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the need for psychological safety<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mentioned in a previous article.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #21304e;\"><i>Purpose<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Setting SMART goals is a well-established way to enhance workplace motivation and performance \u2075. Setting objectives using methods such as the OKR method can help to provide individuals with a sense of achievement and self-efficacy at work.The alignment of these objectives can also help individuals to see how their work contributes to the wider goals of the organisation, thus providing meaning and purpose. Zest proposes an intuitive and simple solution to<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/solutions\/okr-method\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">put in place the OKR method.<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11701 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-1024x593.png\" alt=\"Motivation : Alignement map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-1024x593.png 1024w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-768x445.png 768w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-276x160.png 276w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-104x60.png 104w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-432x250.png 432w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-1400x811.png 1400w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-1100x637.png 1100w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-1342x777.png 1342w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN-720x417.png 720w, https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OBJECTIVES_LISTINGS_Alignment-map_View-by-OKRs_4-levels-EN.png 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong><em>Mastery\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another basic psychological need \u2074 is an individual\u2019s need to improve our skill level. Offering employees with continuous opportunities to enhance their existing skills or learn new ones is an important way to motivate someone who has a drive to learn.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it is also important to mention one form of extrinsic motivation, which is critical to individual performance.<\/span>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong><i>Recognition<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognition and praise for employee efforts, be it public or private, demonstrates to the employee that you are just as engaged with them as they are with you. Research shows that even just the simple act of acknowledging individual efforts has a profound impact on motivation \u2076. Zest proposes a fun and collaborative <a href=\"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/solutions\/360-feedback\/\">feedback solution<\/a> as part of the web and mobile app. <\/span>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b><i>Take-home messages<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Motivation is at the heart of employee engagement: understanding both intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation is an essential part of an organisation\u2019s employee engagement strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managers must take an individualised approach when uncovering what motivates employees. What\u2019s important for some may not be so important for others and this will likely change over time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leaders should take into account these 4 key sources of motivation in their attempts to enhance employee engagement: autonomy, purpose, mastery &amp; recognition.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><i>References<\/i><\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b9 Wrzesniewski, A., Schwartz, B., Cong, X., Kane, M., Omar, A., &amp; Kolditz, T. (2014). Multiple types of motives don&#8217;t multiply the motivation of West Point cadets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(30), 10990-10995.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b2 Green Jr, P. I., Finkel, E. J., Fitzsimons, G. M., &amp; Gino, F. (2017). The energizing nature of work engagement: Toward a new need-based theory of work motivation. Research in Organizational behavior, 37, 1-18.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b3 Pink, D. H. (2011). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Penguin.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2074 Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist. Vol 55, No 1. pp68\u2013 78.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2075 Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002) Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: a 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist. Vol 57, No 9. pp705\u201317.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2076<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s discover together in this article the importance of motivation at the heart of employee engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","blogcategory":[52,51],"class_list":["post-11700","blog","type-blog","status-publish","hentry","blogcategory-employee-experience","blogcategory-employee-listening-social-surveys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/11700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blogcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmeup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blogcategory?post=11700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}