EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.
Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels.
As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation.
Hence while the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others, the outcome of them is a matter of great concern to human resource management.
Increasingly the influence of behavioral science discoveries are becoming important not merely because of the widely-acknowledged limitations of money as a motivator, but because of the changing mix and nature of tasks (e.g. more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs).
The former demand better-educated, mobile and multi-skilled employees much more likely to be influenced by things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation, etc. than the economically dependent employees of yesteryear.
Hence human resource management must act as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of drawing the attention of senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy.
From India, Gurgaon
22To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.
Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels.
As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation.
Hence while the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others, the outcome of them is a matter of great concern to human resource management.
Increasingly the influence of behavioral science discoveries are becoming important not merely because of the widely-acknowledged limitations of money as a motivator, but because of the changing mix and nature of tasks (e.g. more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs).
The former demand better-educated, mobile and multi-skilled employees much more likely to be influenced by things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation, etc. than the economically dependent employees of yesteryear.
Hence human resource management must act as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of drawing the attention of senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy.
From India, Gurgaon
Just though I'll share my two cents on the topic
Keeping teams motivated is one of the toughest things to do. In the old days, this was pretty simple. Just throw
money at the team and that would a prime motivator. Things have changed a lot nowadays and it's not that simple. But a few things that one can do to motivate teams is concentrate on factors other than money. Factors like achievement, respect and recognizing the team. Team building is a thankless and tough job, but it's always important since the success of any organization hinges on the success of its various teams and their ability to co-operate with and support each other. Few things you can do are
1. Set difficult but not impossible goals - if there were no goals, football would be strange right? So set goals for your employees which will inspire them to work hard to achieve them.
2. Acknowledge a job well done - back when we were kids, we loved those gold stars right? So whenever an employee does well always congratulate him, or give a letter of appreciation something on these lines. After all they should know that their contribution is important.
3. Follow the leader - if you aren't inspired, then it's hard to expect your team to be right? Set an example cultivating the kind of attitude and work ethic you expect from your team.
4. Bond with your team - the office is always a formal place. People behave differently in a formal setting rather than an informal one. So take your team out to the movies or dinner when a goal has been achieved or a project completed. Take that time to bond with your employees.
From India, Delhi
Keeping teams motivated is one of the toughest things to do. In the old days, this was pretty simple. Just throw
money at the team and that would a prime motivator. Things have changed a lot nowadays and it's not that simple. But a few things that one can do to motivate teams is concentrate on factors other than money. Factors like achievement, respect and recognizing the team. Team building is a thankless and tough job, but it's always important since the success of any organization hinges on the success of its various teams and their ability to co-operate with and support each other. Few things you can do are
1. Set difficult but not impossible goals - if there were no goals, football would be strange right? So set goals for your employees which will inspire them to work hard to achieve them.
2. Acknowledge a job well done - back when we were kids, we loved those gold stars right? So whenever an employee does well always congratulate him, or give a letter of appreciation something on these lines. After all they should know that their contribution is important.
3. Follow the leader - if you aren't inspired, then it's hard to expect your team to be right? Set an example cultivating the kind of attitude and work ethic you expect from your team.
4. Bond with your team - the office is always a formal place. People behave differently in a formal setting rather than an informal one. So take your team out to the movies or dinner when a goal has been achieved or a project completed. Take that time to bond with your employees.
From India, Delhi
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Employee Motivation.ppt