Maritz Motivation Solutions Reveals Four Pillars of Effective Motivation Initiatives

Experts argue the majority of businesses are missing the mark when it comes to motivating their employees, customers and business partners

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maritz Motivation Solutions, in partnership with The Maritz Institute, is challenging business leaders to re-think their approach to recognition, performance improvement and loyalty programs. To help businesses leverage the full potential of their employees, channel partners and customers, Maritz has developed a framework for improving the design of motivation initiatives through a deeper understanding of the emotion-informed drives that influence human choice-making and behavior.

“Instead of treating stakeholders like means to an end, the four pillars allow businesses to create programs that leverage the full potential of people”

“You’d think it would be easy – offer rewards and recognition for top-notch performance and business results will follow. Truth is, it’s just not that simple,” said Michelle Pokorny, solution vice president – employee engagement and recognition for Maritz Motivation Solutions. “To move people to action, organizations need to view their employees and business allies as people first. Instead of asking, ’How do we get them to do what we want?’ businesses should ask themselves, ‘How can we create an approach that delivers mutual benefit?’”

According to Pokorny and Russ Frey, marketing director of The Maritz Institute, motivation programs must be purposefully designed in order to be successful. Leveraging human behavior theory and the latest human science discoveries, Pokorny and Frey offer four core elements or “pillars” for engaging employees and partners on a deeper level:

1. A head turning attention strategy that keeps purpose, shared vision and goals top-of-mind.

2. An actionable goal commitment strategy that ensures the right goals are established and internalized, and that a commitment is made to their accomplishment.

3. An effective feedback strategy that conveys progress and maintains engagement.

4. A compelling rewards strategy that not only provides positive consequences for achievement, but also adds meaning and social value to the participation experience.

"Instead of treating stakeholders like means to an end, the four pillars allow businesses to create programs that leverage the full potential of people," said Frey. “While each pillar serves a particular function, it’s when you blend all four into a single, remarkable experience that they deliver the greatest benefit to both the participant and the organization.”

For more information on the four pillars of motivation, visit http://www.maritzmotivation.com/4pillars.

For more thoughts from Pokorny and other motivation experts, visit the Maritz Motivation Solutions Blog, or follow Pokorny on Twitter @michpoko.

About Maritz Motivation Solutions

Based in St. Louis, Maritz Motivation Solutions is part of the Maritz family of companies. It offers full-service employee recognition, sales incentive and channel loyalty programs to U.S. and global companies. Maritz Motivation Solutions provides reward strategy and fulfillment for consumer loyalty programs and delivers best-in-class rewards and fulfillment services, including purposefully-chosen merchandise and experiences that excite, motivate and recognize people around the world. The people who work for Maritz Motivation Solutions are dedicated to being the best in the business, fun to work with and their clients’ most valuable ally. For more information, visit www.maritzmotivation.com, subscribe to our blog or call 1-877-4-Maritz (1-877-462-7489).