Measuring Employee motivation:

1. Determine a job candidate's motivation at the interview stage. Ask about a previous
project the candidate was engaged in, focusing on specific steps he took to complete the
project, improvements he made along the way, and the level of satisfaction he had with
the work. By doing this, you can assess an individual's motivation level in performing a
specific type of work.

2. Provide a questionnaire asking employees whether they feel their training and overall
level of preparation for their jobs have been adequate. Many employees will not
volunteer this information on their own because they believe a lack of training places
their job at risk. The results of the questionnaire should give you an idea of whether
employees are motivated to improve their skills and opportunities for advancement.

3. Observe how often employees come to you with questions about their roles and tasks.
Proactive engagement shows initiative and a desire to please.

4. Examine your own expectations for your people. It's a studied and measured fact that
people tend to perform up -- or down -- to their expected performance levels. This
phenomenon is known as the Pygmalion Effect. Ask yourself if, as a manager, you aren't
inadvertently causing some people to feel less motivated by giving them soft tasks or
failing to solicit their feedback on important matters.
 5. Ask employees during their review sessions what their five-year career plans are. This
can help you gauge a particular employee's level of motivation. For example, if an
employee states she's comfortable where she is, this indicates low motivation to advance
her career. Conversely, if that same person says she wants your job, take that as a positive
in terms of engagement.

6. Evaluate your own experiences within the organization. Ask yourself if employees are
treated fairly, if their pay is commensurate with industry standards, if they have adequate
opportunities for advancement and continued education, if they have clearly defined
responsibilities and goals, and if they have open lines of communication with superiors.
If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, your employees might feel the same way.
Negative responses can indicate a low level of motivation.

Evaluating Employee motivation:

1. Implement a performance measure for your business. This only works if your business is
in a sales-focused sector; for example, a retail store. If it is, employee performance is
measurable in terms of sales. Many modern cash registers can record which salesperson
sold a certain good. Compare which of your employees are selling more and who's selling
less. While employee productivity is not necessarily the same as employee motivation, it
can give you a good estimate of the amount of effort your employee is putting into the
business.

2. Conduct a survey of your employees. Specifically, ask them how much they care about
the business' success. According to Personnel Today, an employee who cares more about
the success of the business is more likely to be more motivated in his or her daily tasks.
Use a third-party service for this kind of survey, as employees may not give you a
completely honest answer if you ask them yourself. A survey conducted by mail or online
 will give you a more accurate description of employee motivation as such surveys are
less personal than a face-to-face interview.

3. Conduct a survey of customer satisfaction. This type of survey is adequate for employees
who are more customer service-oriented. A highly motivated employee will likely result
in more satisfied customers than that of an employee with less motivation. Conduct the
survey either yourself or with the use of a specialized survey company, but ask customers
about their experiences while they are still fresh. The longer you wait, the less accurate
your result.

Surveys
Prepare employee surveys with questions that target motivation. Ask workers directly about their job
satisfaction. Give them a section to explain what they are getting and what they need in creative
opportunities, compensation and benefits, and resources and support. Provide questions regarding
management to get feedback on how to better motivate your staff. For example, one query could be
"How could your manager encourage you more?" Make the surveys anonymous so workers can be
honest without worry about retribution.

Attendance
One way to judge how motivated your employees are at work is to look at how frequently they miss
it. Look at your workers' attendance reports for the past six months. Consider the overall amounts of
absences. Take out any statistics of employees who had to miss work for extended amounts of time
due to injury or health issues. The information you have left illustrates whether there is a general
attendance problem that could be linked to a lack of motivation.

Participation
Managers interested in judging the motivation of their employees can learn much from their
participatory actions. Associates who respond to needs of their supervisors and other employees
show enthusiasm for their jobs. Test employee alertness and desire to work by presenting them with
challenges. Staff members who are eager to pitch in, work out strategies and divvy up tasks
demonstrate great motivation. If workers are sluggish to start or argue that there is already too much
to do, those workers are disengaged and lack necessary energy.
 Results
Assessing the output from employees is a way of measuring their engagement in their work. For
example, look at results such as recent profits to gauge staff involvement. Also, evaluate the quality
of the work your staff is producing and the timeliness of work tasks completion. If your workers'
output is on the decline, it is time for morale boosting efforts such as incentive plans and workplace
condition improvements.

Growth
A lack of growth most often means worker motivation is low. When a company stagnates, it is often
due to the lack of achievement of its workforce. The lack of company growth is associated with the
lack of individual employee progression. Staff members who do not learn new skills don't aspire to
higher positions and fail to accept additional responsibilities are not pushing for personal or
organizational success. Increase motivation with educational grants and a leadership program that
will inspire employees to grow, which propels the company forward.