You Can't Motivate Others

Customer experience expert Gregg Lederman knows a thing or two about how to motivate employees. After all he founded Brand Integrity, an experience management firm that specializes in measuring employee engagement at mid- to large-sized companies. His Rochester-based firm provides a variety of tools and techniques for influencing how employees interact with customers, with the idea being that an engaged employee then leads to an even better experience for customers.

 “There’s an incredible engagement crisis going on in our country,” said Gregg Lederman, pointing to management consultant firm Gallup Inc.’s “State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders” report put out earlier this year. According to the report’s findings, roughly three in 10 American workers are engaged workers, meaning they’re involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their jobs.

So how DO you motivate employees?

"You can't motivate others," says Lederman. "It’s not about rewards. That’s not what motivates people. What motivates people is creating an environment where people can become motivated. If you can get the majority of your workforce to capture and share successes, we’ve proven that’s the necessary ingredient for keeping people engaged. Your job as a manager and leader is to create an environment where people can become motivated."

In addition to his good work at Brand Integrity, Gregg is a frequent keynote speaker on employee engagement and the customer experience. His new book ENGAGED!: Outbehave Your Competition to Create Customers for Life, comes out Tuesday, August 27.