Human Resource Management And Using Motivation To Improve Employee Performance Blog Post - 4

 

Using Motivation to Improve Employee Performances

                                              Figure 1: Effective Ways to Improve the Motivation Levels of Employees

        Source: https://www.hifives.in/10-effective-ways-to-improve-the- motivation-level-of- employees/

The term "motivation" is used to describe the internal and external forces that drive an individual to carry out their duties and work toward their goals (Robbins & Jugde, 2015). The formation of motivation is the result of a dynamic interaction between conscious and unconscious elements (Walters, 2010). Need severity, the worth of rewards for achieving goals, employee and peer expectations, and so on all play a role.

Leadership experts agree that motivation is a hard subject to grasp. The challenge arises because most managers just think that money is the only thing that drives their staff (Christopher G. Reddick, 2008). Contrarily, both internal and extrinsic benefits, like recognition and praise, play a role in keeping people engaged and committed to their work. Therefore, it is difficult for managers to understand what drives their staff members.

Extrinsic benefits like higher pay, perks like corporate vehicles and gift cards, and possibilities for professional growth and advancement may inspire certain employees, while intrinsic rewards like professional advancement and public acknowledgement of their efforts may motivate others (Robbins & Jugde, 2015). Putting workers in teams has been shown to increase productivity.

Motivation may also be sparked by factors such as responsibility, a feeling of community, and healthy rivalry. Some workers, however, prefer taking responsibility for their own tasks (Anne Bruce, 1998). These workers argue that the prospect of professional advancement is more motivating than group work itself, and hence advocate for more time spent on individual projects (Fazzi, 1994). The notion of model positioning aids in the elucidation of appropriate commercial tactics. This idea is convincing, aesthetically pleasing, relatable to an outsider, and useful in resolving problems inside an organization (Buckingham, 2007).

The idea aids a business in thinking forward to meet the requirements of its customers while also keeping ahead of the competition. A popular and powerful system, feedback control takes output into account, allowing for performance to be fine-tuned to reach the desired output. A comparison is made between the actual value of the controlled variable and the desired one.

This kind of monitoring employs the closed-loop mechanism and is referred to as a feedback signal (Christopher G. Reddick, 2008). Model positioning may be implemented inside an organization since it is guided by the open loop system principle (Clark, 2012). An error signal is generated by the closed loop system by measuring its output against the target input.

Leaders are liable for stoking the interest of their staffs. They need to dig deep to uncover what drives each worker. The boss must be aware of each worker's specific requirements (Environment, 2015). What drives an employee to put forth effort in carrying out their duties best establishes the ranges at which they operate. Some workers, for instance, are still striving to meet their fundamental demands, while others have already achieved self-actualization.

Therefore, the two workers will not share the same sources of inspiration. It is the leader's responsibility to devise novel strategies for achieving the organization's objectives. One way a leader may inspire their team is via goal-setting (Graeme Salaman, 2005). Staff morale is boosted when their personal objectives are in harmony with those of the company (Kline, 2018). Therefore, the leader is responsible for fostering an environment of open dialogue that promotes the convergence of corporate and individual objectives. 

By laying out specific goals, leaders may make their expectations clear to their teams. Without clear objectives, both the manager and the worker will become more frustrated. Once again, a failure to align with the desired outcomes leads to dissatisfaction and lowers employee motivation (Robbins & Jugde, 2015). Leaders should also aim to shape workers' opinions by managing the flow of information during group activities. Impression management, a process that may be consciously or unconsciously goal-oriented, can help achieve this. Motivating workers may be as simple as praising their efforts, either on their own or as a group.

 

Leaders that are full of life on all levels (emotional, physical, and spiritual) are the ones who give the most inspiration (Turner, 2019). Such managers create a positive work environment that encourages people to strive for higher positions in the company. Redesigning a job involves examining its functions and making any necessary adjustments (Sham Dayal, 2010 ). Because of the potential for this approach to result in a reorganization of tasks, employees' level of engagement in their work and their output might increase.

Work redesign techniques take factors like job rotation, job expansion, and job enrichment into account. Motivating workers in this way is common because it gives them the chance to expand their toolkit of useful abilities for the job (Buckingham, 2007). The procedures below may be used by any company serious about redesigning a work in order to increase employee motivation (Michael C. Mankins, 2017). The present task, its responsibilities, and any difficulties that have arisen in carrying them out must be made crystal clear (Mohammad Atiqur Rahman Sarker, 2012 ). Next, we evaluate each candidate's abilities and see how they stack up against the job description.

Then, responsibilities are redistributed so that there is a better match between the needs of the organization and the abilities and interests of the workers (Kline, 2018). When a new work is introduced, employees get training to learn the necessary abilities to do their jobs effectively. Within the implementation plan, a new job description is provided to the worker to reflect the expanded role (Graeme Salaman, 2005). The company should then schedule follow-up visits to make sure employees' abilities are a good fit for their new roles.

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of wants is a theory of motivation that outlines the many types of demands that inspire workers (Robbins & Jugde, 2015). An employee's needs, in his view, may be satisfied in two ways: psychologically and physiologically. As a result, the need affects how a worker acts and thinks on the job (John Shields, 2020). To paraphrase, he claims that unmet wants influence employee actions but met needs have no effect on productivity. This arrangement ensures that the most pressing needs are met before the less pressing ones.

An organization's goal should be to define the tiers of its workforce. With this knowledge, it can provide a variety of jobs and events tailored to each employee's specific interests and skill sets. Lower level needs and higher level needs are distinguished among the requirements. Psychological, physical, and social demands are all part of the base level of requirements. An employee whose primary focus is on psychological requirements should be provided with amenities like rest periods, reasonable shift lengths, and a pleasant work environment.

                                                       Figure 2: Drive Employee Performance And Motivation

     Source: https://davidburkus.com/2012/07/six-ways-to-drive-employee-performance-and-motivation/

Workers who help ensure the safety of others should have stable employment, a secure workplace, access to minimum benefits, and a fair wage (Robbins & Jugde, 2015). The social requirements of employees may be met in part by providing a welcoming workplace with nice coworkers and managers, as well as by providing them with opportunities to connect with customers.

On the other side, self-actualization, decision-making, and a desire for high self-worth fall under the category of "higher-level wants." Employees who put in the time and effort to develop their potential and meet their own needs are the ones most suited to take on challenging assignments that need original thought (Michael C. Mankins, 2017).

The company should also make an effort to include workers who want to have a say in organizational decisions in higher-stakes, more independent positions (Clark, 2012). Leaders who show appreciation for their staff by giving them recognition, promoting them to higher-level positions, and giving them authority over important tasks are able to meet the requirements of their workers in this regard.

References

 Anne Bruce, ‎. S. P., 1998. Motivating Employees. London: McGraw Hill Professional.

Christopher G. Reddick, ‎. D. C., 2008. Handbook of Employee Benefits and Administration. London: CRC Press.

Clark, T., 2012. The Employee Engagement Mindset: The Six Drivers for Tapping into the Hidden. London: McGraw Hill Professional.

Fazzi, R. A., 1994. Management Plus: Maximizing Productivity Through Motivation, Performance, and Commitment. New York: Irwin Professional Publishers.

Graeme Salaman, J. S. J. B., 2005. Strategic Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. 2nd ed. London: SAGE.

Harris, D. H., 1994. Organizational Linkages: Understanding the Productivity Paradox. Washington: National Academies Press.

John Shields, ‎. R. ‎. B., 2020. Managing Employee Performance and Reward: Systems, Practices and Prospects. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Kline, S., 2018. Positively Managing Performance: Your Roadmap for Managing Employees, Increasing Engagement and Creating a High Performance Work Environment. Chicago: Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press.

Michael C. Mankins, ‎. G., 2017. Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team. Harvard : Harvard Business Review Press.

Mohammad Atiqur Rahman Sarker, M. J., 2012 . Employee Motivation Through Non-Financial Incentives. Washington: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH KG.

Sham Dayal, S. D. P., 2010 . Accelerating Productivity: Strategy for High Growth, High Performance and High Motivation Levels in an Organization. Liverpool: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Turner, P., 2019. Employee Engagement in Contemporary Organizations: Maintaining High. London: Springer Nature.

Walters, J., 2010. Positive Management: Increasing Employee Productivity. New York: Business Expert Press.

Buckingham, M. (2007). Go put your strengths to work. New York: Free Press.

Environment, C. (2015). Creating a motivating work environment from the Course Stepping Up to Leadership. lynda.com.

Robbins, S. P., & Jugde, T. A. (2015). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

 

     By: MJM Sabry