With Great Talent Comes Great Responsibility – how goals and KPIs demotivate the best employees

More and more workplaces want to measure everything. KPIs, scorecards and performance goals are supposed to motivate employees and help increase their productivity. But is that really a good way to motivate employees and makes them happy?

Helle Hein has a ph.d. in management and has done research on motivation for the past 20 years.

Her research shows that many people are not motivated by metrics and bonuses but by something more meaningful – a professional calling or a cause that matters deeply to them. Leading these people based only on performance measures and financial rewards leads to frustration and a huge loss of talent and motivation.

In this talk from the International Conference on Happiness at work 2017 in Copenhagen she will show you how your organization can get the most out of its most talented employees, what really motivates people (no, it’s not bonuses) and how to make sure that people feel that their work really matters to them.

One thought on “With Great Talent Comes Great Responsibility – how goals and KPIs demotivate the best employees”

  1. Certainly people are much more motivated by what they perceive as a worthy cause as opposed to a board full of KPIs. Further, too often KPIs are poorly thought out and encourage behaviors which are counterproductive.
    Money in the form of a bonus or salary increase is the energy drink version of motivation-it gives a jolt but only for a short while. When we look closely at human needs we see that people want to be appreciated, respected and to feel part of something special. A manager’s job is to motivate every person every day. This requirement can only be met by causing people to feel respected, appreciated, part of something special and working on a cause with meaningful value.

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