A strong culture is one of the characteristics many successful businesses seem to have in common. But, what is corporate culture and why is it so important? Culture has become a hot topic in part because the reasons why people perform a task, whether they be workers on a factory floor, or your kids doing their homework, have a lot to do with how well people perform. Human motivation can be influenced to a large degree by a handful of crucial factors and employee motivation has a huge impact on both customer satisfaction and business results.

In the 1980s, two university professors made a major breakthrough in the field of psychology, debunking the reigning theories that the way to get human beings to do something is to offer them rewards. In one experiment, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan found that participants who were told that they were being paid to complete a puzzle stopped working as soon as the time was up, while participants who were not being paid continued to work on the puzzle. Changing the motivating factor for the task from monetary reward to enjoyment meant they took more of an interest in doing it well, offering new perspective on what motivates people.

Getting corporate culture right

Their thesis, Self Determination Theory, identifies the psychological factors that motivate people. They can be boiled down to six main reasons why people work: play, purpose, potential, emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia. The first three tend to motivate people and the last three have the opposite effect.

But how can corporate culture affect staff motivation? Corporate culture is defined as the “social order” of an organization, or, how a company’s beliefs and ideas affect employee behavior and business interactions. Companies that get culture right maximize the play, purpose and potential experienced by employees and minimize emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia, boosting employee motivation.

Why people work

Play happens when people are motivated by the task itself because they enjoy it. Often, play takes place at work when the environment allows employees to be creative and express themselves.

Known for being the world’s largest low-cost airline, Southwest Airlines also consistently ranks high in customer service among US carriers, partly because it cultivates a culture in which employees are allowed to have fun at work, even if that means turning flight safety demonstrations into comedy routines, as its flight attendants have become famous for.

Purpose is when employees identify with the direct outcome and believe the impact of the work that’s being done is positive. At Ria Money Transfer we strive to open ways for a better everyday life for our customers and the net positive effect of what we do is an attractive part of working at Ria for many employees.

When the job helps the employee reach a desired goal or reinforces their identity, Potential is at work. Energy management specialist Schneider Electric is known for grooming employees for future positions at its University which offers dedicated academies for executive development, leadership, customer education, energy and solutions, sales excellence and functional skills. The company believes that by providing employees opportunities to advance, they become stronger, more committed leaders.

We’ve covered the ways to motivate people, but what about the factors that work against motivation? The three de-motivating factors, emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia, often have little or nothing to do with the task at hand and cause distraction that reduces performance. Emotional pressure is when people perform a task because of guilt, for example, or to fulfil someone else’s expectations while economic pressure is all about earning that paycheck. Inertia is simply continuing to perform a task in order to avoid change.

Motivation by Design

How tasks or roles are designed can have a huge impact on how well people do and are a big part of how companies can motivate their employees. Allowing employees the flexibility to bend the rules if needed so they can better perform in customer-facing situations is one example. Encouraging workers to test new ideas on the factory floor also makes the work more engaging and more interesting.

Keeping people in tune with the impact of their work is another culture-boosting practice that reinforces their sense of purpose and helps them identify with the company’s values. Encouraging people to speak up and listening when they do, also helps to build a healthy culture.

Culture is important to us at Ria because it drives how we serve our customers. We are committed to making a difference in people’s lives and that commitment is reflected in everything we do. If you share our passion for making a difference, find out more about what we offer.

For more info: comms@riamoneytransfer.com