Why it’s time to get personal

Last week I was hearing about someone who had been paid a bonus. It was only fifty quid, and previous bonus payments had always been much higher, but it was unexpected in the light of the challenges the organisation had faced over the year and therefore a welcome gesture. However, any positivity felt by the payment was wiped out by the accompanying letter, which started with ‘Dear Employee’. It then went on in a very generic way about the difficult year and gratitude to employees.

This individual had worked throughout the year, having found a place in their home which had become a desk space for most of the year, and managing an increased workload. In many cases, a furloughed employee can’t do most of their job, hence the justification for the furlough, but some necessary tasks have been handed over to others.

This individual received the very impersonalised letter, the exact same letter that was sent to furloughed employees by the way, thanking him for his efforts this year. Not very inspiring.

Many theorists on motivation (Herzberg, Maslow, Glaser to mention a few) help us to understand why monetary rewards are more likely to be a demotivator (in their absence) than a motivator. How much more motivating would a personalised letter from this person's manager be, detailing just what the manager has recognised him do over the year, not just working hard in difficult circumstances, but specifically what he has achieved and how he has conducted himself? There has never been a more important time for leaders and managers to demonstrate empathy.

When the crisis first hit, most of the evidence pointed to high levels of engagement: employees who were happy with the way their leaders had reorganised their businesses to accommodate new ways of working, with communication turning out to be a strong point. This is no time for complacency. Engagement is likely to take a huge dip unless leaders ensure they don't take employees for granted, make the effort to do the things that create engagement, and take the time and trouble to make employees feel individually valued for the effort they’ve put in this year.