Hiring with Wisdom of Maslow Motivators

Though the Maslow Needs Hierarchy is apparent in several areas of life, in none of these is it more prevalent than in the business world. With the many and varied stages of life that different people are in, there is a much greater concern about the possibility of conflict in business. While the manager of a department may have achieved the stage of self-actualization and has a family, his/her entry level worker may only be at the cusp of securing their first apartment.

The prior case study depicts the difference between people at different levels of Maslow's pyramid. Someone who is consistently having trouble providing their basic survival and physiological needs is going to be under great stress. Unfortunately, employees under such stress will begin to show it through their poor work performance.

There are three basic needs one must meet in order to provide focus in the workplace; having secured a dwelling, loving family, and sufficient amount of money to provide for the basics. Usually if you have these basic needs you will excel over others without them. This makes it easier to focus during a normal workday.

The best type of employee to hire should be found through a vigorous interview process; those with the most stable life environment are the best workers to have. During the hiring process, recall the Maslow theory that notes the best employees should be in the self-actualization and esteem stages; these people usually focus on others' needs while completing their work tasks.

Workplace competition generates a higher quality of product and promotes employee cohesion. Esteem stage employees make a great fit for your business due to their more competitive need to excel, combined with their need for attention and the respect of their coworkers. Esteem stage employees are better at maintaining excellent interpersonal workplace relationships and can provide your business with quality work.

Workers present in the self-actualization part of a firm are quite productive. Such workers concentrate more on the job in hand. These workers seem to be calm with good conduct and pretty well sure of their worth and are prepared to face the hardships of life. To add to this, workers don't simply stagnate at a particular stage - they may drop back down the ladder. Hence, it's advisable to have only those people who are high up enough in the ladder to impart confidence even when they have occasional backslides.

The Maslow theory has proven useful in many facets of life, but perhaps the business world most importantly. A thorough review of business will find that the more competent, focused, efficient employees on staff, the better the ultimate success of the business. And what better way to secure this success than to hire members of the workforce who embody traits enabled by the top tier of Maslow's pyramid.

Daiv Russell is a marketing and management consultant with Envision Web Promotion. Read more Management Articles, learn about Maslow and the Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs.