The Motivati method has been researched with convincing results

For years, the employee appraisal has been written about and researched, and we have read a lot about where the shoe pinches. Even so, there have been no significant changes in how we prepare for and conduct this important dialogue. Until now.

– Employee appraisals that feel irrelevant to the employee are not just a waste of time, but can actually damage the employee's engagement and motivation, says Associate Professor Mads Nordmo Arnestad, BI Norwegian Business School, Campus Bergen. In 2018, he carried out an impact study to evaluate the Motivati method.

The results showed that there is an empirical basis for saying that the Motivati method works significantly better in key areas than the paper-based methods we have been used to.

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In the study, half of all managers in two different organisations were randomly selected to use the Motivati solution, while the other half followed the “business as usual” method – in other words, whatever they normally do in their organisation. This was followed by a validated survey sent out by BI.

The research results also showed significantly better outcomes for the Motivati group

– Among other things, we found that participants in the Motivati group felt they received significantly more recognition for the positive things they do in their job, which we know is very important for motivation, work engagement and learning, says the BI researcher, adding:

– In general, we learn much more when we are made aware of what we are doing right and well than when we are criticised for the opposite.

The results also show that Motivati was significantly better than ordinary paper methods when it came to:

• “I feel that what we talked about was highly relevant to me and my work”
• “I feel that the feedback I received in the employee appraisal corresponds well with what I have actually achieved”.

– This tells us that the employee appraisal for this group was better suited to reflecting the actual circumstances, says Arnestad.

– These are very important factors, so this is good news, especially considering that Motivati's intervention was quite modest, with only 1.5 hours of training for the managers, says Arnestad.

A total of 500 employees from 2 organisations took part in the study.

• The student welfare organisation Sammen, with a wide range of positions and 400 employees.
• Sysco AS, an IT consultancy with 100 employees.

Both organisations were randomly divided into two groups by the researcher. In one group, the managers received 1.5 hours of training in using Motivati via Skype or in a physical meeting. The employees received written information about the method before answering Motivati's preparatory survey.

The other group became the control group, which used the forms they were familiar with from previous years. The control group received no information about Motivati.

The employee appraisals were held during the same period for both groups in each organisation, and no change processes were under way in either organisation that could have affected the results.