Motivating employees

Motivation is the set of internal and external factors that encourage people to take actions to achieve a goal. In a business context, it's about the desire of employees to work hard and effectively. A motivated workforce is a business's most valuable asset. Highly motivated employees work harder, leading to higher productivity and output. They take more pride in their work, resulting in better quality products and services, which improves customer satisfaction and the business's reputation. Motivated staff are also less likely to be absent (lower absenteeism) and are less likely to leave the company (lower labour turnover). This saves the business significant costs associated with recruiting and training new employees.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that people are motivated by a series of needs, which he arranged in a hierarchy or pyramid. He argued that an individual must satisfy the needs at one level before they can be motivated by the needs at the next level up. The levels are:

1. Physiological Needs: The most basic needs for survival, such as food, water, and shelter. In a work context, this is met by a fair wage or salary.
2. Safety Needs: The need to feel secure and protected from physical and emotional harm. This includes job security, a safe working environment, and clear terms of employment.
3. Social Needs: The need for belonging, friendship, and interaction with others. This can be met through teamwork, good communication, and company social events.
4. Esteem Needs: The need for self-respect, status, recognition, and achievement. Managers can satisfy this through praise, promotions, and giving employees important job titles.
5. Self-Actualisation: The highest level, representing the need to reach one's full potential and achieve personal growth. This is met by providing challenging work, opportunities for creativity, and chances for promotion and development.

Frederick Herzberg's research led him to a two-factor theory of motivation. He suggested that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are caused by two separate sets of factors.

1. Hygiene Factors: These are factors that will not motivate employees, but if they are absent or inadequate, they will cause dissatisfaction. Think of them as essentials for a 'healthy' work environment. They include things like company policy, supervision, salary, working conditions, and job security. Improving hygiene factors (e.g., increasing pay) can reduce dissatisfaction, but it will not create positive, long-term motivation.
2. Motivators (or Growth Factors): These factors are what actually create job satisfaction and motivation. They are related to the content of the job itself. Motivators include a sense of achievement, recognition for good work, responsibility, interesting work, and opportunities for advancement and personal growth. According to Herzberg, to truly motivate an employee, a business must focus on these motivators.

Financial rewards are methods of motivation that involve paying money to employees. They are often effective because money is needed to satisfy basic needs. Key methods include:

• Wages: Paid weekly or monthly, often to manual workers. A 'time rate' pays per hour worked, while a 'piece rate' pays for each unit produced. Piece rate can increase productivity but may lead to a fall in quality.
• Salaries: A fixed annual amount, paid monthly. Usually for non-manual workers (e.g., office staff, managers). It provides income security but is not directly linked to performance.
• Bonus: An extra, one-off payment given to an employee or a team for meeting a target or for good performance. It's a direct incentive to work harder.
• Commission: A payment made to sales staff for each sale they make, usually a percentage of the sale value. It provides a strong incentive to sell more but can lead to high-pressure sales tactics.
• Profit Sharing: A scheme where a proportion of the company's profits is paid out to employees. This encourages everyone to work towards the common goal of making the business profitable.

Non-financial methods aim to motivate employees without using money. They often focus on making the job itself more interesting and rewarding, linking closely to Herzberg's 'Motivators' and the higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy. Key methods include:

• Job Rotation: Moving employees between different tasks at the same level of complexity. This relieves boredom and gives employees a wider range of skills, making the workforce more flexible.
• Job Enlargement: Adding more tasks of a similar level to an employee's role. This adds variety but does not increase responsibility.
• Job Enrichment: Giving employees a wider range of more complex, interesting, and challenging tasks, with more authority and responsibility (e.g., allowing them to check their own work). This is a powerful motivator as it gives a sense of achievement and trust.
• Teamworking: Organising employees into small groups and giving them responsibility for a particular part of the production process. This can improve morale and meet social needs.
• Praise and Recognition: Simply acknowledging good work, either privately or publicly, can be a very effective and low-cost motivator. It helps to satisfy esteem needs.

The way a manager behaves and directs their staff can have a huge impact on employee motivation and performance. There are three main styles of management:

1. Autocratic: The manager makes all the decisions alone and gives orders to employees without consultation. Communication is one-way, from top to bottom. This style is useful in a crisis or when dealing with unskilled workers who need clear instructions. However, it can demotivate skilled employees who want to contribute ideas.
2. Democratic: The manager involves employees in the decision-making process. They listen to ideas and encourage discussion before making the final choice. This can lead to better decisions and higher motivation as employees feel valued and trusted. However, it can be slow and may not be suitable for all decisions.
3. Laissez-faire: The manager sets the overall objectives but then leaves the employees to organise their own work and make their own decisions. This 'hands-off' approach shows a high level of trust. It works well with highly skilled, creative, and self-motivated employees (e.g., research scientists or designers). It can be disastrous with employees who need more guidance and supervision.