Staffing

How to motivate 4 different types of employees

Hourly workers can be coached into high performers, but only when management understands their employees and the nuances of motivation.

Photo: Adobe Stock

March 11, 2024 by Scott Greenberg — Business Keynote Speaker and Author, Scott Greenberg

During my first few years operating my Edible Arrangements franchises, I struggled with employees. I'd already been working as a motivational speaker when I got into that business, so it was a shock when my team didn't respond to my brilliant Jedi-leadership tactics. I had to unlearn what I thought to be true and search for what it really takes to motivate employees.

Through a lot of trial and error and experimentation, I confirmed that hourly workers can be coached into high performers. But only when management understands their employees and the nuances of motivation.

"Hard Needs" vs "Soft Needs"

Most restaurants focus on meeting hard needs – the tangible things employees want from a job. Primarily this is money, but it may include other benefits. It's what employees get in exchange for their work. "Soft needs" refer to their emotional desires. These include respect, praise, personal growth, safety (including emotional safety) and a sense of belonging. You may not be able to offer a high hourly wage, but you can still give employees a better work experience. What people get motivates less than how people feel. This is equally true for both employees and customers.

But each person has their own soft needs, their own motivating drivers. One may want schedule flexibility. Another may need acknowledgment. Some just want to be someplace less toxic than home. Ideally, you'll get to know individual employees and learn what they care about most so you can create an inspiring work experience for them. But until you can truly understand their personality, you can start with their personality type.

Deciphering Personality Types

Personality profiles such as the DiSC and Myers-Briggs have been around for years, helping employers understand what type of people they have and need. We should be careful about assigning labels, but there's value in understanding a person's disposition and where they're most likely to thrive.

In my presentations, I discuss my own system of four personality types. There's no need to administer an assessment—when I describe these types, most people quickly self-identify with one (sometimes with leanings toward another). Each type is driven by its own soft needs (motivators) and is suited for certain kinds of work. Let's look at what motivates each:

Doers are task-oriented. They want to get things done. They work hard and they work fast. That sounds great in a restaurant, but these people can be dismissive of others. They may focus more on tasks than on people. That can be hard on the team. They may also struggle to provide great customer experiences. But when work needs to be finished, they make it happen.

Doers crave recognition for their efficiency and accomplishments. Challenge them with high-responsibility tasks and clear paths for advancement. Give them measurable benchmarks. In a quick service restaurant, Doers shine as shift managers or kitchen leads, where quick decision-making and action are paramount.

Thinkers like to collect information and analyze things. They're good at problem solving, but they can take a while. That's hard in a fast-paced restaurant. If they lack information, they may hesitate to act. Given time and adequate data, however, they'll come up with great ideas.

Thinkers thrive on feedback and opportunities to improve. Engage them in roles that require analytical thinking, like inventory management or crafting efficiency strategies, where they can analyze and optimize to their heart's content.

Feelers are more emotionally aware. They bring the heart to your team as they're highly attuned to the emotional climate of the workplace. They're sensitive and empathetic, which makes them helpful to others. But emotions can be distracting in the workplace, so they may need a gentle touch. In return, they're good at meeting others' soft needs.

Feelers need a supportive, appreciative work environment where their interpersonal skills are valued. They excel in customer service and collaborative work, where their emotional intelligence makes them invaluable.

Connectors are social. They love to talk, network, and bring people together. They're "people people." That's great, but sometimes socializing can lower productivity. They might struggle in solitude or on the line. In settings where human connection is important, however, no one does it better.

Connectors need a role that lets them build relationships and feel part of a community. They shine in front-of-house positions, using their people skills to elevate the customer experience and team morale.

I had employees at Edible Arrangements who were very social. That was great when they were serving customers. But in the kitchen while preparing fruit baskets, they tended to talk and get distracted. I also had some very heads-down, results-oriented employees who could efficiently crank out arrangements. With customers, however, they struggled to create the warm, friendly connections I wanted. When I began to understand the different personality types, I could hire and assign roles accordingly. That changed the game for us, leading to better retention, better customer reviews, higher sales, higher morale, and an overall better work environment.

Understanding these personality types will help you with hiring and assigning employees the positions for which they're best suited. Employees are more motivated when in the right role.

This isn't very scientific, especially compared to the complex, research-based profiles out there. But you may not have the time or the budget for those. The idea is to just be a bit more thoughtful about what personality types might do better in certain positions.

Don't rule someone out just because their apparent personality type doesn't directly align with the job, especially if they have other good qualities. People are multilayered. Labels and "types" have some use, but they don't tell the entire story. You need to look at people multidimensionally.

Employee motivation isn't about lighting a fire under them. It's about feeding the fire within them. With a little more understanding of who your employees are and what they need, you can motivate them to work harder, stay longer, and help you grow your business. That should motivate you.

About Scott Greenberg

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