I have asked thousands of people what the most powerful motivator is for employees. Most of them say, “Money.” Those people are correct; kind of. A pay-check is the foundation of the employee-employer relationship. Compensation gets the employee to show up. Does that mean the key to motivating or engaging employees is money? Unfortunately, the answer is not that easy. There could be many factors that motivate each employee; including money.

There are roughly 13 motivating factors in the workplace. These factors include money, interesting work, opportunity for advancement, a team environment, job security, making a difference, personal growth, responsibility, a flexible work environment, positive relationships and praise. What surprises many is that studies show us that, of those motivating factors, money is typically the least motivating factor.

You may have heard someone say, “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this!” There is a good chance that money isn’t actually the problem. It is most likely that one of the employees other needs are not being met. However, because of that foundational agreement of the paycheck, money is often times the default complaint for most employees. In other words the employee is saying, “If you pay me more I will put up with this abuse.” The problem with this logic is that money doesn’t cause the source of the frustration to change.

One of my favorite illustrations of this is in professional sports. It is amazing to me to hear professional athletes complain about their travel schedule. Most of them only play one game a day for a few hours at a time and they get paid millions of dollars to do so. They are complaining because the travel is an environmental issue and not a financial issue. The money doesn’t make the grueling travel go away.

In all fairness money can serve as a temporary motivator. Studies show that pay increases motivate employees for about 15 days. Just enough time to be excited about the first bigger paycheck, get the check, spend the money and start complaining again. Just like the professional athletes, money does not change an employee’s environment at work. Money changes the environment outside of work.

Consider a construction foreman complaining about being asked to take on more responsibility. He would not say, “I’m frustrated because I feel like the work I am already doing is not being recognized and now they are asking me to do even more work which I am sure will go unnoticed as well!” He is much more likely to say, “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this!” So what are you to do as a leader to determine if money is the issue or not?

Motivational Super-Secret Tip #1: Ask the employee what motivates them. Have a sincere conversation in which you ask them to consider the motivating factors presented here. Ask them what their top three motivating factors are. Don’t expect an immediate answer because they will need time to think about it. Once you have an understanding of what motivates the employee make sure you use the information. If they want to feel part of a team then focus on how they can be a great team player. If they want opportunities for advancement then walk them through a development plan to help them get there. To motivate the employee change the conversation from financial incentives to incentives that really matter to them. You might be wondering if money can be one of the primary motivators. Of course it can be but, after clarifying their motivating factors you and the employee will know money really is the issue rather than one of the 12 other motivators.