What value does money play in the motivation of `knowledge workers' such as Project Managers

Abstract

Much of the current research into motivation and performance list things areas such as task variety and work autonomy as the main constituents and money is reduced to a hygiene factor in employee performance. However much of this conventional research has been carried out in the retail and manufacturing industries where much of the work is repetitive. How does this model fit for the new developing areas of professionals classed as 'knowledge workers', to which the profession of project management belongs where task variety and a high level of work autonomy already exists. This paper looks at one aspect of the survey carried out across the Consulting Business Group, Halcrow Group Ltd that of how the recognition scheme was perceived after its introduction by members. There is much evidence that contingently administered recognition schemes can be as powerful a reinforcement to increase employee performance as a part of a total reward model. Driven by this proposition, Consulting Business Group has been carrying out a pilot recognition scheme across all its 523 staff, over a 6 month period from April to September 2005, predominantly targeted at the staff in the UK and this report deals with the feedback from those staff and the underlying implications for knowledge workers such as project managers. We received 281 responses (Total staff number of 523) from 27 offices worldwide representing a return of 54% which means that the results of this survey are statistically relevant and can be said to represent the opinions of the business group. The overriding factor was that only 3% of this group of staff would be against us continuing this scheme and believe, despite the variety of viewpoints, philosophies and concerns, that it is a worthwhile initiative. However where the most interesting discrepancy was the way in which money was viewed rather than as a hygiene factor that the research had indicated it appeared to be a 'badge of status with implications for self-esteem and exercise of influence and directly related to work effort and job satisfaction. In fact they appear to use pay as a means of evaluating their net worth to both the organisation and the external labour market checking constantly for discrepancies between the two.