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<< Back to FAQ/Fact list Q: I’ve got an employee whom I can not, for the life of me, motivate. "Murray" has been with the organization for 20 years. He is two years away from retirement. He has gone as far as he is going to go in the company, and he knows it. I think he is patiently treading water until retirement, and there's nothing I can do about it. He is too smart to let his work slip – rather, he has become a master at doing the minimal work needed to get by. What can I do? Please, don't say, "Get rid of him." I’ve thought about it, but he is a very popular guy with his co-workers, and firing him two years before he retires will kill morale. To say nothing of the legal problems the organization could encounter. A: This is a familiar challenge in management: "unmotivatable employees." They aren’t motivated by the possibility of advancement, because they’ve gone as far as they’re going to go; they aren’t motivated by money, because they know they’ve hit their ceiling; they aren’t motivated by accomplishing things, because in their mind, they’ve accomplished plenty in their career; and they aren’t motivated by the work itself because they’ve been doing it for so long they’re burnt out. So, what to do? You are correct. Firing the employee is not the answer. Other employees don’t know the inside story; to them, it looks as if you’re dumping a "higher salary" two years before retirement. There are some things you can do, however. Try these approaches: Make "Murray" a mentor to a new employee. There’s a very good chance that Murray will be flattered with the responsibility, and will clean up his act. Make sure Murray knows how crucial it is that the new employee learn "the right way to do things." Rare are the employees who will continue to slack off when a young employee is working with them. Let Murray know that he is important to future plans. In many cases, older employees have a hard time getting motivated because they know they aren’t going to be around to reap the results of their hard work. Give them projects with timetables. Let Murray know that the work he is doing now is going to have a direct effect on the bottom line of the organization.
Give Murray special projects. If there is an important project on the horizon, consider Murray for the task. Suspend him of his regular duties, and put him to work on the special project. Let him know how important the project is, and that you’ll be monitoring progress very closely. This could give Murray the jump-start he needs.
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