IT Management Slideshow: What Motivates Your Top IT Employees?

Do you wonder what drives your best employees to push themselves above and beyond the call of duty? Are you struggling to understand why certain incentives seem to make the least amount of impact on worker performance? You may be surprised by the results of the report, Motivating IT Employees, Part 1, from Forrester Research Inc. Hint: For today's successful professional, reward is about more than simply making money. In fact, base compensation and bonuses rank below what are considered intangible rewards, such as work-life balance, autonomy and the 'cool' factor of a job itself. And even as the national unemployment level remains troublesome, job security ranked high but still outside of the top five factors. The report is based on a survey which also reveals that&#151of all motivators used in the office&#151the threat of disciplinary action is at the bottom of what motivates employees. (Only one third of respondents consider it to have any significant impact on performance.) The survey also sheds light on different perspectives for those aged 45 years and below and those aged 45 and older. More than 125 top IT professionals responded to the survey. Here are selected highlights: