Joanne Kaldy, Editor
Contributing to this article: Bob Nelson, Nelson Motivation, Inc.

What you think is a motivational or supportive gesture may not coincide with what makes your staff feel good. Does that surprise you? According to Bob Nelson, President of Nelson Motivation, Inc., and author of several books and articles on the topic, "there is a gap between what employees say motivate them and what employers think are motivators." And this communication gap isn't new; according to Nelson, it dates back to the 1940s.

Without even realizing it, managers often misunderstand what motivates or revitalizes their employees. "Most employees say that spontaneous gestures-acknowledgement from highers up, expressions of gratitude, personalized gifts or perks, etc.-are most appreciated," Nelson explains. Managers, on the other hand, often value personal, "more internal" triumphs and assume that staff are driven by the same types of goals. As further proof of this "great disconnect," Nelson sites studies showing that management think that staff appreciate the motivational gestures they make about 80% of the time. Employees, however, suggest that they appreciate about 20% of these efforts. "I've had people suggest to me that as managers rise, they often forget how important simple things are to employees," Nelson notes.

Plug into Revitalization: Reconnecting with Staff

How do you get back in touch with your staff? Talk to people and find out what is important to them, suggests Nelson. Especially if your staff is small, he says, "the individual, personalized process is best-find out where they want to go in their career, what they like about their job, what they don't like."

It also is important for management to understand how their pharmacists like and expect to be treated, suggests Nelson. "I think that there is a greater sting in criticism today than in years past," he notes. "There seems to be more of a shift toward treating employees as colleagues-leveling the playing field in terms of status and power." As a result, Nelson says, "Criticism tends to cut deeper and last longer." This doesn't mean that you can't tell people when they do something wrong. The key, he says, is to be consistent. Don't just talk; listen as well. Involve staff in problem solving.

Solving the Mystery of Staff Revitalization

Revitalizing staff requires managers to play detective, Nelson concludes. Not only do they need to investigate staff's interests, goals, likes, and dislikes, supervisors also need to know when staff need revitalization. "If morale is low, you need to find out why and connect with your staff to address it," he says. "Don't just bring in doughnuts one morning and think that it will make everything better."