Employee Motivational Techniques

Perhaps one of the most effective ways to motivate employees is to make sure they understand and appreciate goals of the organization and are supported by managers in the work to achieve these goals. There are several motivational techniques that can be used to increase productivity, reduce workplace stress, and increase self-confidence. There are a number of ways to inspire and motivate employees.

Job Enrichment

According to Koontz & Weihrich (1990), this is an attempt to build a greater sense of challenge and achievement into jobs. Work can be enriched by giving workers more freedom in deciding on such as work methods, sequence and pace or acceptance or rejection of materials; it gives workers a sense of personal responsibility for one's tasks; taking action to make sure that workers can see how their tasks contribute to the final product and well-being of the company; involving workers in the analysis and change of physical aspects of their work environment such as office layout or plant temperature, lighting and cleanliness.

Training

People can be taught to become more motivated by depicting them how to break down tasks and challenges, and how to feel less intimidated by certain job roles. Demonstrating employees how to cope in the workplace, can lead directly to improved motivation (Daniel, 2001).

Money

Whether within the frame of compensation, piecework (getting paid for units created at a certain quality level) or any other incentive pay, rewards, stock options, company-paid insurance, or any of the other things that will be given to people for performance, money is critical; it might moreover mean status or power.

For a few individuals’ money will always be of the most extreme significance, whereas for others it may never be. It is likely very true that in most sorts of businesses and in ventures money is utilized as a means of keeping an organization satisfactorily staffed and not fundamentally as a motivator. Individuals in different positions, even although at a comparable level, must be given pay rates and bonuses that reflect their person performances.

Yet Shanks (2007) notes that monetary compensation only motivates up to a point; that is, when the compensation is not high enough or is considered unfair, it is a demotivator. Conversely, when it is too high, it also appears to be a demotivator, and results in individual performance being tempered to protect higher level of compensation. Further, Atchison (2003) argues that as soon as money is predictable, it is an entitlement, not a motivator.

The way to guarantee that money has meaning, as a compensate for accomplishment and as a way of giving individuals satisfaction from achievement, is to base compensation as much as conceivable on performance (Edwin, 1993).

Targets, Rewards, and Incentives

It is for the most part acknowledged that having targets to work towards, as long as they are practical, is one of the foremost effective ways of progressing performance. Achieving targets improves assurance and self-confidence but it must be kept in mind that those who reliably underachieve will end up feeling demotivated. Target accomplishment can be remunerated not only with monetary motivations but maybe with the offer of increased duty or even promotion. Different people are persuaded by different things, so it is important to make sure to simply offer the correct motivating forces to the right member of the group (Daniel, 2001).

It is without a doubt that each employee expects some level of reward after performing a function or task. Employers expect employees to deliver or perform designated duties to their satisfaction while employees also expect their employers to ensure adequate wages and salaries (rewards) after they duly deliver what is expected of them (Malhotra, et al., 2007).

It is always easier to motivate a team if a manager fully understand that they may not necessarily be motivated by the same things as them. The most effective teams are those that feel valued and supported, but also, they feel that they are progressing and developing through completing challenging tasks. Also, most people tend to respond well to been given the opportunity to make decisions and take on additional responsibilities. Let any motivational techniques work best, it is always important to ensure that employees feel that they are making a valuable and positive contribution (Daniel, 2001).

Communication

Communication isn't just talking to the team but also listening to them. It is important to ensure their understanding of the companies’ goals and objectives and their individual job roles, but it is equally important to show them the importance of their feedback to achieving goals and standards (Robbins, 1998).

Team Building

Despite mixed feelings about team building activities, the fact that they encourage people to work together outside the office environment can be a definite plus. They can encourage healthy competition and give each team member the opportunity to be in the winning team.

Fajana (2002) claims that teamwork is integration of resources and inputs that work in harmony to achieve organizational goals, where the roles are prescribed for each member of the organization, challenges are equally faced and incremental improvements are constantly sought.

Improving team relationships can result in increased productivity and morale and can lead to a much happier and healthier work environment. Such exercises can also help with problem solving, problems within the team. It is important that all team building exercises are carefully balanced to ensure that they don't play to strengths, or employee weaknesses, but are designed to give everyone a chance to succeed (Robbins, 1998).

References

Atchison, T. A., 2003. Exposing the myths of employee satisfaction.. Healthcare Executive, 17(3), p. 20.

Daniel, K. J., 2001. The effects of employee satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover on organisational effectiveness: A unit level, longitudinal study.. Personality Psychology, 54(1), pp. 101-114.

Edwin, A., 1993. Comparism and Motivation: maximising employee performance with behaviour-based incentive plans.. Personality Psychology, Volume 46, pp. 407-411.

Fajana , S., 2002. Human Resources Management: An Introductory. Lagos: Labofin and Company.

Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H., 1990. Essentials of Management. 5 ed. Singapore: McGraw Hill.

Malhotra, N., Budhwar, P. & Prowse, P., 2007. Linking Rewards to Commitment: An Empirical Investigation of four UK call centres. International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp. 2095-2127.

Robbins, S. P., 1998. Organizational Behavior. 8 ed. New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall .

Shanks, N. H., 2007. Management and Motivation. In Introduction to Healthcare. United States: Jones & Bartlett Learning .