Stop Guessing: How Unlocking Employee Motivations Can Transform Your Organisation

Introduction

The work landscape rapidly evolves due to technological innovation, hybrid working models, and a heightened focus on employee well-being and adaptability. The Fraunhofer Institute and other studies highlight that this shift requires a new approach to employee engagement, one that extends beyond traditional incentives such as higher salaries and perks. To achieve long-term success and retain top talent, organisations need to understand their employees’ motivations and preferences. Unlocking these key drivers is essential for fostering engagement, improving retention, and boosting productivity.

The Importance of Employee Engagement in New Work Environments

Employee engagement – employees’ emotional and psychological commitment to their organisations – is a key predictor of success. Engaged employees are more motivated, productive, and aligned with company goals. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, businesses with highly engaged teams experience 21% higher profitability, reduced absenteeism, and improved customer satisfaction. However, as work environments become more flexible and employees demand more autonomy, maintaining high engagement requires a tailored approach.

Many organisations focus on surface-level perks but overlook the need to align job roles with what genuinely motivates employees. To engage employees meaningfully, companies need to consider individual motivations and preferences, which are more fluid and adaptable than personality traits and provide fundamental insights into behaviour at work.

The Role of Motivations and Preferences in Engagement

Understanding motivations and preferences is crucial for unlocking employee engagement. Motivations are the internal forces that drive how employees prioritise their work and what they seek from their jobs, such as autonomy, recognition, and personal growth. Preferences reflect how individuals approach tasks, communicate, and manage their work environment.

Unlike relatively stable personality traits, motivations and preferences evolve in response to changing work environments and experiences. This makes them more effective for improving engagement. According to Daniel Pink in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, employees are primarily driven by three factors: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. These intrinsic motivators are significant in today’s workplace, where hybrid and remote working arrangements offer employees greater flexibility.

Personality vs. Motivations: Why Preferences Matter More

Personality assessments, such as the DiSC or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), are often used in workplaces to understand behavioural tendencies. While these tools provide insights into traits like introversion or extraversion, they don’t capture the dynamic and adaptable aspects of employee engagement, such as motivations and preferences.

Personality is difficult to change, as it tends to remain relatively stable throughout an individual’s life. This makes it challenging for managers to shift personality traits to align with workplace demands.

By contrast, motivations and preferences are more malleable and context-dependent. For instance, employees might prefer independent work in specific settings but thrive in collaboration when the task aligns with their values. Preferences can shift based on experiences, team dynamics, and job roles, making them more practical for managers to consider when driving engagement.

Metaprograms: Understanding How People Make Decisions

Metaprograms are mental filters from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that influence how people perceive information, make decisions, and engage with tasks. These filters explain why some employees prefer structured tasks while others thrive with more freedom and creativity.

Some common NLP metaprograms that impact work preferences include:

• Toward vs. Away From: Whether an individual is motivated by achieving a goal (toward) or avoiding pain or failure (away from).
• Options vs. Procedures: Preference for having multiple options (options) versus structured, step-by-step processes (procedures).
• Global vs. Detail-Oriented: Focus on the big picture (global) versus diving into details.

By understanding these metaprograms, organisations can better tailor job roles, feedback, and communication to suit individual employees, boosting engagement and performance.

Employee Engagement and Retention in New Work Environments

Understanding employee motivations and preferences is crucial for retention in hybrid and remote working models. According to McKinsey’s research on the hybrid workplace, employees who are engaged are more likely to stay in the long term. In contrast, disengaged employees are more likely to leave, costing companies approximately 33% of workers’ annual salaries to replace them.

Improving employee engagement positively impacts retention. Employees who feel understood and valued are less likely to seek other opportunities and are more likely to contribute fully. Aligning job roles and work environments with individual preferences reduces turnover, boosts morale, and creates a loyal workforce.

Boosting Collaboration and Productivity Through Motivations

Understanding an employee’s motivations and preferences also enhances collaboration and productivity. When teams understand each other’s working styles, communication becomes more efficient, conflicts are minimised, and goals are achieved faster. Teams aware of each member’s decision-making filters and work preferences can operate more smoothly as individuals play to their preferences.

For example, someone who prefers autonomy might be more productive if given the freedom to structure their work independently. In contrast, a team member who thrives on collaboration might excel in group settings. By acknowledging these preferences, managers can ensure that team members contribute to their highest potential, improving performance and innovation.

Fostering Engagement Through Personalisation

The connection between engagement and retention is clear, but how can organisations effectively foster this engagement? The key lies in personalisation. Generic engagement strategies often fail because they need to address the unique drivers of each employee’s behaviour. Personalised strategies, based on individual preferences and motivations, are far more effective.

Tools that assess employee preferences and motivations offer valuable insights into what drives engagement. For example, Sariio MAPS assesses work preferences and motivations through NLP metaprograms, helping managers understand how to align roles with employee strengths.

This approach enhances engagement and enables teams to perform at their best by fostering environments where employees can thrive.

Conclusion: Stop Guessing – Unlock Employee Motivation to Transform Your Organisation

The evolving work landscape demands a deeper understanding of what drives employees. While personality assessments like DiSC or MBTI offer valuable insights, they fail to capture the dynamic aspects of employee behaviour – motivations and preferences. Organisations can create personalised engagement strategies that lead to higher retention, productivity, and job satisfaction by focusing on these factors.

Rather than guessing what motivates your employees, tools like Sariio MAPS provide a clear path to understanding each team member’s unique preferences and motivations. This personalised approach enhances engagement and transforms organisations into more effective and resilient entities.

Sources

1. The Feuenhofer Institute “New Work Creates Attractive Working Conditions”, Freuenhofer Institute, 2025
2. Gallup. “State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report”. Gallup, 2021.
3. Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, 2009.
4. McKinsey & Company. “The Hybrid Workplace: Making It Work”. McKinsey & Company, July 2020.