From the author: Ivan Kanardov Source: ICS-Journal, No. 6 2012Motivation remains one of the cornerstones in working with personnel. Many systems have been developed, but no one has yet succeeded in coming up with a universal key to satisfying all needs. A separate “headache” is the motivation of IT specialists. The demand for “computer scientists” of any direction exceeds the supply. Moreover, even a high salary is not a factor in employee retention. We want to share our experience in solving problems with motivating IT staff using the example of our company and our clients. Leave the pyramids to the Egyptians, we are in Russia! Maslow's pyramid, X and Y factors and other methods are wonderful, but they are difficult to put into practice. Let's see what is used in reality and why it works or doesn't work. This classification is quite arbitrary, but at the same time it largely reflects the current situation. The “American system” is a reward for achievement and a sea of ​​moral incentives. It is considered the reason for the success of the development of the US economy since the 50s of the last century. The basis is setting a clear goal; if it is achieved, there is a reward. At the same time, the “American” system requires a high level of training for managers who can correctly and accurately set and control goals. At the same time, they should not only reward financially, but also morally encourage. Improper use of the system leads to decreased motivation. This is how a tool for constantly raising goal levels does not work with IT staff, like, for example, sales representatives. “European system” - who will last longer. The main feature of the system is that work with us for two, three or five years and you will receive a very good bonus, and then another 3 years and the bonus will be twice as large. For specialists, such a system is called “golden handcuffs”, and their effect extends for 2-3 years, and for top management – ​​“golden parachute”, but here the count goes on for decades. The main problem is that handcuffs and a dangling parachute do not guarantee interesting projects, the absence of conflicts and changes in priorities. For example, programmers simply get tired of working with one language; they want new projects, new perspectives. Another important aspect is that for most specialists, the construction of personal plans does not extend to more than a year. As a result, the 2-3 year system of restrictions begins to strain, and they leave, especially since there are plenty of offers on the labor market. The “Japanese system” is lifelong employment. The basic principle is that an employee starts working with a minimum wage, the more he works, the greater his income. Any transition to a new job means a fresh start with a minimum wage. Here, do what you want, but there is no point in running away. This system lasts as long as there is an unspoken agreement between large employers to hire new employees at a minimum wage. For IT employees, such a system is not applicable: with the spread of communications, most people don’t care where they work - you can live in Tahiti and work simultaneously for three companies in the USA, Belarus and England. The “Russian system” is a carrot and a stick. One of the highlights of the Russian application of this system is that the carrot and stick depend on the mood of the leader. Today he yelled that nothing was working, tomorrow he gave me a bonus. For some reason, many Russian employers are confident that the very fact of hiring should already motivate the employee. In psychology there is the concept of “learned helplessness”: when punishment is not connected with logic, then a person simply waits for the wave to pass, but this completely kills initiative, assertiveness and creativity. Why try if punishment and reward depend on the mood of your superiors? In the “Russian” model of motivation, those who survive are sycophants or those who have nowhere else to go. Rely on needs, create your own system! What actually motivates staff and how to satisfy these needs? If you look at various studies of the needs of IT specialists, then in first place, of courseHowever, it turns out to be a material reward. And then there is a discrepancy: for some, the stability of the company is in second place, for others, interest in work. We will group all factors into levels and carefully analyze each of them. The first level is wages and bonuses. The shortage of qualified personnel in the IT field creates an overheating of the salary market. This precisely explains that material motivation for employees in this sector is far from being the main factor. It is enough for even a moderately trained IT specialist to enter the labor market, and a “fight” literally begins for him. The 2008 crisis had little effect on salary expectations; the demand for IT employees significantly exceeded supply. Constantly increasing wages is impractical and economically unprofitable, meanwhile money still remains the basic factor of any motivation. However, this factor alone is not enough; other methods of motivation must be added to it. Using traditional bonus methods also does not give the desired result. According to our estimates, the majority of IT specialists will not chase a bonus; they are more likely to focus on stability of salary and work. The bonus system currently being implemented by many companies based on an assessment of work performance for the year has two drawbacks - psychological “bias” and separation of remuneration from result. The human mind is designed in such a way that we will think that we worked well all year, despite the fact that this may be far from the case. Therefore, no matter how hard HR and management try to conduct an objective assessment, most employees will feel offended. When results and rewards have a strong time difference, this also does not force employees to work more efficiently. Solution. In our company, we use quarterly bonuses based on work efficiency and the number of hours on the project. Every three months, the employee receives an assessment of his work and remuneration for it. Here, a significant role is given to the project manager, who independently decides on the issue of bonuses. Such a system allows you to motivate a person in a shorter time period and reduce psychological “bias”. Also, once a year, all employees, without exception, meet with the company's leading managers and receive feedback and project goals for the year. This provides the opportunity for management to understand the motivation of specialists at all levels, and for employees to influence the situation in the company. The second level is career and team. One of the important factors is career. Among IT specialists, of course, there are many who want to get their hands on power and use it. At the same time, many of them want to develop professionally, receiving an advisory fee for this. This causes bewilderment among managers, since for them salary growth is directly related to promotion up the career ladder; it is difficult for them to understand that a specialist who receives a salary greater than the head of a department wants to simply be a professional in his field. Team work is also an important factor for IT specialists, at the same time, there are paradoxes here too. Our research has shown that for most it is important to be part of a team of like-minded people, while they tend to work independently. The opportunity to discuss problems with the team, to be in a group of like-minded people is motivating. When forming a team of IT specialists, pre-selection plays a role. Sometimes it is worth refusing a good specialist if he does not fit into the work group, rather than taking him and thereby destroying the team. The method of assessing personal qualities using the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) [1] has proven itself very well in forming teams. However, IT specialists do not like all kinds of psychological tests, so we have developed a method for assessing basic psychological traits based on a behavioral interview that we conduct when hiring. The technique is simple and effective, which can be used by people withoutengaged in psychology professionally. Also during the interview, it is important to pay attention to the similarity of the candidate’s hobbies and the interests of the team. Leaving a team where you have friends with whom you played WOW every evening or went snowboarding weekly is much more difficult. The solution. It is necessary to develop career plans in two directions, both managers and professionals in the same field. Naturally, we must also take into account the possibility of a decent reward for this. It is important that managers are able to understand career development and help subordinates. Level three - interest, perspective and training. Many IT specialists note that it is very important for them that the work they do is interesting and focused on the future. Therefore, if you are using an outdated platform, for example 1C 7.7, then it will be more difficult for you to find people willing to support it every year, not because there are no specialists with experience working with it, but because it is unpromising from a development point of view. Another aspect of prospects is the possibility of learning. According to our research, more than 53% of IT specialists have a pronounced cognitive motivation, in contrast to other employees, where this percentage on average does not exceed 19. This spread is due to the fact that universities do not provide a full-fledged education in information technology, and so that at least -To advance in this area, you need to do a lot of self-education. Therefore, most professionals have great curiosity and desire to develop. The remaining part dropped out because they could not achieve anything meaningful and switched to other directions. But interest in the project is a purely individual and subjective thing. Some people purposefully seek a certain interest in their work, while others develop it during the course of their work. A lot depends on the leader here. Does he know how to “see” his subordinates, does he understand their needs, and is he able to inspire? We specifically trained the leaders of one of our customers to tell stories that they could teach, inspire and convince people. Don't forget that IT specialists are focused on development. Simple and easy tasks are uninteresting for most of them, and therefore demotivating. Conversely, challenging tasks spark interest. A gradual increase in difficulty is the best option for motivation. It is very good when a manager has completed the “Situational Personnel Management” course, which will teach you to understand the level of development of an employee’s skill, correlate it with motivation and accurately “play” with employees’ interest in complex tasks. Solution. We recommend courses for managers on “Individual Motivation” and “Situational Personnel Management”. We specifically provide training on these topics for our clients, which gives serious results. Managers receive a methodology for determining the needs and interests of their subordinates, as well as tools with which they can satisfy them. Level four - control and freedom. One of the important motivators for IT specialists is the provision of independence in solving problems. The managers of many departments have the same attitude towards IT specialists as they do towards ordinary specialists at a level just above a computer operator. Many of them forget that the creation and programming of some processes requires a level of analysis of the situation no less than that of a financial director when solving the problem of merging two companies. The desire to constantly monitor the work of IT and demand quick results does not create a desire to work effectively. One of the important conditions is the provision of authority to resolve issues at one’s level. At the same time, no one talks about lack of control - people tend to be lazy, no matter where and how they work. Finding a balance is the main task of a manager. Solution. Learn to set clear goals and provide a reasonable level of responsibility to employees. The more experience a person has, the more clearly he performs tasks, the less he needs to be controlled. Conclusions and advice1. Constantly monitor and support.