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I have noticed that most of the workers would like to have an easy job with big salary . If one Links salary increase to the performance still we have noticed first few weeks bater performance, then it is all the same as before.
There several ways that can increase employees' motivation without considerable cost:
- The most effective method is increasing employee's empwerment; involvement and job enrichment increase employees self esteem and also, is good opportunity to get recognised and increase his knowlede and experience; this matter will prepare him for promotions whenever is required.
- another method is to continuously appraise good performance and appreciate it; small gift for appreciaition; a thank you e-mail. to mention his name in the meetings and gathering as sort of appreciating his contribution to the success of the project.
This reminded me of an article I have written on my blog.
Motivation is what drives an individual to do what he was asked to do. In a professional environment, motivation can be the reason of success-or failure of any business. Thus, managers strive continuously to motivate the employees. The question that arises is how would they do that ? Typically, they would give bonuses or financial awards. However, studies revealed that money is not the top motivator. So what are the keys of motivation ?
Dr. Bob Nelson, an expert in employee motivation, published a known article that discusses this issue. In his “The Ten Ironies of Motivation”, Dr. Nelson states facts about motivation where he considers them as “ironies”.
Starting with the first “irony”, Dr. Nelson stated that “Most managers think that money is the top motivator -but it’s not”. Actually, employees seek individual recognition rather than bonuses or promotions. They want their work and their contributions to be valued and acknowledged as they were part of the business success.
Dr. Nelson said ” People want to feel that what they do makes a difference. Money does not do this; personal recognition does.”
The second fact or “irony” is that appreciating one’s job is common sense but it is not common practice in most organizations. As a matter of fact, few managers consider “appreciating others” as a part of their job responsibility. When employees perform something exceptional or worth appreciation, it will not prevail as managers will be too busy or too away from their employees.
The next fact is that “Things that are the most motivating to employees tend to be relatively easy to do and cost the least”. In other words, the means of motivation do not have to be expensive. Dr. Gerald Graham, professor of Management at Wichita State University, showed in a study that employees ranked three top incentives that motivate them : First, A personal thank you from one’s manager for a job well done. Second, A written “thank you”. Third, public appreciation.
The forth irony is that “What motivates others is often different from what motivates oneself”. Multiple studies performed on employees and supervisors revealed different perception of “motivation”. For example, when workers were asked to rank a list of motivators from1 to10 in order of their importance, they rated “Appreciation for a job well done” as the top motivator whereas supervisors ranked it8th. The workers also rated the feeling of being involved as their second motivator whereas supervisors ranked it the last motivator.
So it is essential to know what really motivates the employees and involves them. “The best management is what you do with others, not to them”
The fifth irony is that “Simple, fun and creative rewards work best to motivate employees”. Companies may consider fun ideas undermining their seriousness or credibility. However, the fun part of a recognition is what makes it positive and having a significant impact on motivation. For instance, a Hewlett Packard (HP) engineer once burst into his manager’s office after having solved a complex problem. The manager was happy and looked for something to give him as a reward. He found a banana on his desk and handed it to the employee. Over time, Golden Banana Award became an official award in the company for inventive employees.
The following irony is that “The greatest impact in using formal awards comes from their symbolic value”. In effect, recognition is by far the most motivating for an employee. However, recognition can have negative effects by using money, merchandise or any typical award. In fact, employees would appreciate more a symbolic recognition such as presenting an award in a public ceremony and sharing with them feelings-personal feelings.
The seventh irony is that “recognizing performance will result in more of that behavior-and that’s also when it means the most to employees”.In other words, managers or supervisors should focus on the performance of an employee and acknowledge it. Consequently, employees will continuously strive to be a part of the business’ success.
The eighth irony is that “Managers don’t tend to focus on employee motivation until it’s lost”. As a matter of fact, as we have mentioned earlier, managers don’t include motivation among their responsibilities. This will cause low or event lost motivation.
The before last irony is that “It takes less effort to sustain desired behavior and performance than it initially does to create it”. Dr. Neslon explained that recognition should not end with a motivation program or project. Oppositely, efforts of recognition should be performed on a regular basis and this will not be needing extra efforts as it needed at the beginning.
The tenth irony is that “The more you help employees develop marketable skills, the more likely they are to stay with your organization”. The marketable skills are what market pays more for them. By helping employees developing those skills through training, guidance and learning, they will appreciate the efforts of the company. Consequently, they would stay in the business because they will consider it different and special comparing it to others.
As a summary, even though “money” is what comes to our minds as soon as we start talking about motivation, Dr. Nelson stated that money is not the top motivator. In effect, motivation can be done through recognition and appreciation. Through these simple behaviors or practices, businesses can increase significantly employees motivation without spending a penny.
In my view following strategies may be adopted for the said reason (Though it is not an exhaustive list):
I would have been following ways/means to motivate the workers without involving money:
1. Declaring best workers as ‘STAR’ for the organization in a big gathering of workers.
2. Giving ‘Appreciation’ letter to the good performers which will be acknowledged during their performance appraisals.
3. Praising for their achievements by the top management.
4. Arranging some kinds of competitions among the groups.
