🔱 How to motivate your people when raises aren’t an option

From:

JooBee Yeow <joobees-newsletter@mail.beehiiv.com>

To:

Hidden Recipient <hidden@emailshot.io>

Date:

3/20/2025, 8:01 AM

March 20, 2025 | Read Online

TL;DR

🔱 How to motivate your people when raises aren’t an option

⚓ Beyond salary: What do your people want?

❓ Your views on Career Anchors

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Question: We’re balancing a tight runway, struggling to hit revenue targets, and need to either reach cash flow positive or secure our next funding round. With limited salary increases, how can we keep our team engaged and motivated?

Founder

How to motivate your people when raises aren’t an option

Right now, many founders are stuck between a rock and a hard place—balancing short-term survival with long-term business success. If you’ve exhausted every possible way to increase compensation and it’s still just not an option, then it’s time to shift focus.

What else can you offer besides money that’s valuable to your employees?

Short-term pay vs. long-term career growth

Salary increases are a short-term win, but careers are long-term investments. If you can’t meet your team’s immediate financial needs, at least invest in something that compounds over time—their future value.

Think of knowledge, skills and experience as an investment portfolio. If someone invests in skills, experiences or working with people they enjoy, they may not see the payoff today. But over time, these assets can lead to career progression, greater confidence and higher earning potential.

❝

Just like financial investment, career investments don’t always show immediate returns. But they multiply in value over time.

So, if a pay rise isn’t possible today, don’t stand still. Focus on what you can provide to help them grow.

Know what drives your people

As I write this newsletter, I’m reminded of my early days as an assistant lecturer. Every year, first-year business school students tackled the same question in their Organisational Behaviour assignment:

"People do not come to work just for money. Discuss."

The task was to explore motivation beyond financial rewards.

With over 1,000 students submitting essays, at least 6 of us assistant lecturers marked them—something I did for 3 years. Like many, I wondered at the time: “Does anyone actually apply what they study at university?”

Fast forward 20 years, after serving as both a Chief People Officer and a manager of teams, I wish I could go back and tell those students: This is one of the most crucial things you need to understand if you want to lead people—what truly motivates them.

Different people, different career motivations

Career motivators vary from person to person. While there are many, I’ll highlight three examples here.

1️⃣ Motivator: Creativity

Some people thrive on innovation and original thinking. They get a rush from breaking new ground, solving complex problems and experimenting.

💡 Business needs x individual motivation: If you're exploring AI integrations or bold marketing strategies, get them involved. Give them opportunities to experiment and create. 📈This fuels their passion while also building their long-term career reputation as an innovator—which, in time, translates to higher demand (and compensation) for their skills.

2️⃣ Motivator: Influence

These individuals are motivated by responsibility and impact. They want to integrate teams, mobilise people and take ownership of total results.

💡 Business needs x individual motivation: Your business likely needs better systems to scale—from stronger processes, improved cross-functional collaboration and operational efficiency. Give them the responsibility to lead these initiatives. 📈This not only drives business results but also sharpens their leadership skills, making them invaluable for future leadership-level roles.

3️⃣ Motivator: Affiliation

For some, work is about relationships, trust and community. They find fulfilment in strong team bonds and a sense of belonging.

💡 Business needs x individual motivation: If your business is operating in silos and you need to strengthen workplace collaboration—through cross-functional projects or initiatives that bring teams together–involve them! This not only keeps them engaged—even when financial rewards are limited—but also helps them build a strong professional network, improve communication skills and develop cross-functional expertise. 📈These are invaluable assets for career growth, opening doors to leadership roles and broader career opportunities.

These are just 3 examples of motivators—there are many more. To help you and your team identify what drives them. Check out the Career Anchor tool below that you can use to uncover their key career motivators.

When people see a future, they stay.

If salary increases are off the table, you need to shift from short-term incentives to long-term career investments. Identify what motivates your team and create opportunities for them to invest in their future.

And when you eventually can offer higher compensation, they’ll still be there—more skilled, more motivated and ready to drive the business another step forward.

Career anchor

Use this tool to uncover what truly drives your team in their careers.

👇 The second article below shares how an engineering leader leveraged it to identify his team’s key motivators and guide them in making strategic career investments.

Career Anchor tool

Beyond salary: What do your people want?

I had the chance to work with William Di Pasquale, an engineering leader who was one of the most curious and proactive I’ve met—always looking for ways to support his team’s growth. He regularly booked 1:1s with me and my team, eager to learn new techniques.

One day, he asked, "What is Career Anchors?"

He’d been browsing our HR team’s page and noticed our “[Name] in 60 Seconds” profiles, each with a section on Career Anchors. When I explained that Career Anchors reveal what someone values most—their non-negotiable motivator, even in tough career decisions—he was intrigued.

Here’s an example of the 60-Second profile he was referring to 😅

"Why did you get your team to do that?" he asked.

"So their managers and I know what truly drives them," I told him. "Not just to assign the right work, but to shape their career paths. When people do what energises them, they perform better—and feel more fulfilled."

The shift in his approach

A few weeks later, William came back, eyes wide with amazement.

"JooBee, none of my team had ‘material reward’ as their top anchor."

Before the Career Anchor exercise, his team kept pushing for promotions and pay raises. But once they completed it, most had ‘Expertise’ as their top motivator—along with other motivators.

"So, what did you do?" I asked.

He told me he changed how he approached performance and development conversations. Instead of defaulting to promotions or salary increases, he dug deeper—trying to understand what was really driving the request.

"When someone asks for a promotion or more pay, I put on my curiosity hat. What’s behind the request? Is it a need for recognition of expertise? Struggles with influence? A change in life circumstances? Appreciation of creativity?

"I don’t dismiss material rewards—if someone truly needs a higher salary due to life changes, that’s valid. But if the real driver is recognition or career growth, a pay increase alone won’t solve the issue. In fact, it might lead to even more dissatisfaction down the line. So my goal is to understand what they’re really seeking—and help them get there in a way that’s meaningful and sustainable."

How managers can use Career Anchors to unlock performance & growth

To help your team perform at their best, use Career Anchors to uncover what truly drives them:

1️⃣ Have your team take the Career Anchor assessment
Ask your team to complete a Career Anchor assessment. It reveals what they value most—expertise, autonomy, meaning, security, status, or something else.

2️⃣ Use it in 1:1 conversations
Tailor coaching based on their motivators:

Influence: What kind of impact do you want to have? How can you take on more responsibility for driving change?
Meaning: What type of work makes you feel fulfilled? How can we connect your role to a bigger purpose?
Expertise: What skills do you want to master? How can you position yourself as a go-to expert in your field?
Creativity: What challenges excite you the most? How can we give you more opportunities to experiment and innovate?
Affiliation: What kind of work environment helps you thrive? How can we strengthen team connections and collaboration for you?
Autonomy: In what areas would you like more decision-making power? How can we structure your role to give you more ownership?
Security: What does job stability mean to you? How can we support your long-term career progression within the company?
Status: What type of recognition motivates you? How can we showcase your achievements in a way that aligns with your career goals?
Material rewards: What does financial success mean to you? Beyond salary, what benefits or incentives would make you feel valued?

3️⃣ Align work to what energises them
People perform best when engaged. Adjust responsibilities to match their motivators—give an expertise-driven person complex problems to solve, or involve an influence-driven employee in cross-functional initiatives.

4️⃣ Look beyond promotions & salary
If someone keeps pushing for pay or promotions, dig deeper. Money is rarely the sole motivator—it’s often a means to an end—is it security? Recognition of expertise? Growth in status? Once you understand their why, you can shape career development in a way that truly matters to them.

When you understand what truly motivates your team, you can help them grow in a way that fuels both their success and your business’s performance–and set them up for a well-earned next step in their progression.

Give Career Anchors a try. You might be surprised by what really drives your team.

William Di Pasquale

💡A word from William:

“It’s been years since I first learned about Career Anchors. Do I still use it? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It’s a conversation framework, and it works best with employees who engage in structured discussions and are open to a bit of self-exploration.

When I sense that a team member might respond well to the Career Anchors approach, I first gauge their curiosity. At its core, it's just a tool to facilitate a meaningful conversation.

What really matters is building trust—creating a space where we can have an honest discussion about what they’re seeking, especially when it comes to material rewards. The goal isn’t just to talk—it’s to truly understand their motivations and help them achieve what they actually want.”