Motivating Staff:

Empowering Staff & Clients

Latting identifies 8 myths related to motivating social workers

Myth 1: Social workers derive most of their satisfaction from helping others. True or False?

False: social workers need rewards

such as money and other incentives.However, rewards can be less tangible

such as job redesign and participation in management decisions

Myth 2:

The happy worker is a productive worker.

True or False?

False

Workers are motivated to greater effort if they believe that the effort will be

rewarded.

Myth #3:

Workers usually know how well they are performing on the job.

True or False

False

Workers need feedback from supervisors to know how well they are doing.

Myth #4

The less explanation given to workers about the basis for pay raises or

promotions the better.

True or False?

False

Workers tend to compare themselves to others and adjust their performance levels

accordingly

Myth #5:

Some workers just don’t “have it.” Consequently, they need to be penalized

for their behavior

Latting argues that this is False

She argues that behavioral (reinforcement theory) suggests that the effective manager will identify those conditions which stimulate

inappropriate behavior on the part of the worker. Consequently, managers may be able to modify their own behavior or the

workplace environment in order to change that worker’s behavior.

Myth #6

Most merit rewards systems serve as incentives toward better performance.

True or False?

False

People are naturally motivated to do work in a manner that will make them feel competent

(self-efficacy). Giving rewards for good performance, can in some circumstances

reduce the individual’s feelings of self-control and competency.

Myth 7:

Specific goals setting in social services is meaningless. Agencies use management by

objectives because funders demand it. Managers only need to have general goals

describing what they want to accomplish and to encourage workers to do their best. True or

False?

False

There is research evidence that people work harder if they have difficult, specific goals.

MBO is effective in situations where workers participate in setting their own goals.

Myth 8:

The most important information about what is expected or prohibited on the job are

manager’s verbal and written instructions and the agency’s written policies and

procedures.

False

Workers actually take their cues about how to think, feel, and behave from other workers.

Latting argues that workers develop their own frameworks about how to behave in the workplace

or how to practice based on :

• Theory• Research• Practice wisdom• Personal experience. Personal experience in the

workplace may guide what workers do and how they interact with others. Consequently, if we change their experience and what they expect to happen, we can change the workplace, and consequently change worker behavior.

Petter (2002) identifies seven processes for empowering employees

• Power: Grant power and authority to those doing the work while building in accountability.

• Decision-making: Allow more opportunities for staff to participate in decision-making to create more of an organizational democracy.

• Information: Increase information, especially information related to organizational mission and goals, so that workers have the necessary information to make decisions.

• Autonomy: Integrate choice and discretion into work performance with appropriate boundaries.

• Initiative and creativity: Allow worker to initiate tasks and explore creativity consistent with organization goals.

• Knowledge and skills: Encourage adequate knowledge and training not only in job skills, but philosophy, principles and benefits of empowerment.

• Responsibility: Allow employees to track and evaluate their own performances in consultation with the supervisor rather than the supervisory oversight of the job task.

Techniques for Motivation

• Finding what motivates individuals – providing them individualized supervisor or job opportunities/awards

• Finding a good strategy [based on theory] to motivate individuals and groups in organizations [rewards, goal orientation, need for power, need for affiliation with organization/others].

• Inspirational Leadership/Lead by Example• Establishing Trust• Creating a supportive workplace; encouraging teams or

team spirit; mentorship; group cohesion, or peer counseling

• Job Redesign

Tools for Job Analysis and Design may include:

• Desk audits or logs

• Surveys and interviews with staff

• Observation

• Established performance standards and program outcomes

• Management by objectives

Job Restructuring May Involve:

• Job enlargement• Job enrichment• Job rotation• Creating teams• Changing work conditions• Using technology and training staff in its use. • Using flex-time and job sharing approaches• Flattening the organizational hierarchy by assigning

more workers to supervisors/reducing number of supervisors.

• Giving individual workers more autonomy and decision making authority.

Work Teams: A group of people who work together toward common goals and

objectives.

Organizations use teams to:

• Make work more productive.• Allow work to be undertaken by interdisciplinary

groups of people.• Meet the needs of clients in a holistic rather than

a fragmented way.• To eliminate harmful effects of organization

hierarchies and empower staff.

Stages of Team Development (Perlmutter, Bailey, & Netting, p. 132)

• Stage 1. Dependency on the leader; Concerns about who is included on the team and the rules for team governance.

• Stage 2. Counter dependency and fight. Group seeks to free itself from dependency on the leader.

• Stage 3. Trust and Structure. Focus on resolving conflicts and tasks accomplishment. Cooperation, negotiation, and open communication.

• Stage 4. Work and Productivity. Goals are achieved.• Stage 5. Termination. Assessment of the Work Accomplished.

Critical tasks for building effective teams

• Selecting and Orienting Team Members.

• Ensuring Open Communication

• Building Mutual Trust and Support

• Managing Differences

Researchers have identified the following attributes of effective teams:

• Cohesive and cooperative work units that can engage in problem-solving

• High levels of coordination• The ability to make decisions in a

timely manner• High levels of personal self-efficacy

among staff members • Ability to work across professional

differences

Research also confirms that team approaches can be effective for empowering staff and increasing feels of

autonomy and self-efficacy:

• Kirkman and Rosen (1999) found that with sufficient management support, the provision of performance-related awards, and access to information, team members as a group will feel empowered. They also found that feelings of team empowerment increased the level of productivity for the team as a whole, stimulated employee initiative, and improved customer service.

• Team membership contributes to the ability of organization staff to adopt service innovations and practice principles (Allen, Foster-Fishman, & Salem, 2002).

• A high degree of task and goal interdependence among team members increases job satisfaction, reduces conflict, and increases cooperation among staff members (Van der Verg, Emans, & Van de Vliert, 2001).

Interdisciplinary teams

• Teams inside the organization or within collaborative arrangements among several organizations include professionals across a number of different disciplines.

• These teams help decrease service fragmentation and address the “whole” needs of clients.

• In organizations, they also help bring workers of different status together and consequently can increase productivity and commitment to the organization

Problems with interdisciplinary teams:

• Professional turf battles among workers.

• Lack of communication due to differences in professional philosophy, status, and values.

• A team that focuses on conflict rather than work.

Brownstein’s model of effective interdisciplinary collaboration:

• Interdependence among team members• Team ownership of goals• Flexibility or the capacity to alter member roles

in response to situational demands• The ability to reflect on group processes• The development of new professional activities

by the team that build on the existing strengths and expertise of each member

Additional Problems with Team Functioning

• Team members may have incompatible goals or levels of commitment

• Team members may have hidden agendas that interfere with the process.

• Someone may not be a team player• Team may lack a clear direction or a sense of purpose.• The leader may not be focused on the task or not be concerned

about outcomes or group functioning.• Inexperience with teams may hinder the process.• The organization may not give full support to the team.• Unappreciated and unsupported teams may disintegrate.

Training Team Members

• Provide information on group processes including goal setting, and the provision and use of feedback on group performance.

• Inform members about the professional skills and values of each discipline represented on the team in order to prevent turf battles among members.

• Provide information about how to conduct effective meetings, interpersonal communication skills, collaboration, and diversity.

Other types of team structures:

• Virtual teams.

• Converting organization structure from a hierarchy to a total team approach.