Motivation: How to Keep Employees

How to Keep Employees Motivated

Introduction

According to Stephen Robbins, "Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual needs (Robbins, 1998, p.168). For most businesses, employee motivation is a good way to increase productivity. When people become motivated, they will have a reason to put more effort into what they are doing. Motivation is a crucial management tool in lifting the organization's work force abilities. (Robbins, 1998) However, ongoing changes in the nature of work and the characteristics of the labor pool, as well as declining resources, are pushing companies across the globe to become better at attracting, retaining, and motivating employees (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg, 2006). Many businesses have implemented motivational techniques to promote employee performance with the expectations of achieving greater efficiency and productivity.

There are many different ways to motivate employees. Employers can motivate their employees as individuals, groups, teams, or as an organizational whole. The key, however, to motivating employees is communication. Disconnected employees are not motivated to work to their fullest potential. According to DeVoe (2001), "managers should address employee concerns through open, straightforward conversation and be willing to listen to issues and involve employees in discussions on how change can be implemented most effectively." In addition, DeVoe asserts that "by discovering employees' interests, managers can offer rewards that complement personal and professional desires, such as providing a more flexible work schedule to those most interested in quality time with family and a structured plan for advancement for those driven more by professional ambition (2001)." Many organizations have developed individualized reward systems equal to the performance level of their employees and contingent upon desired levels of performance. The allocation of performance-based increases, in conjunction with monetary incentives, may be considered important factors in determining employee motivation. Another, perhaps, more important motivational adaptation is to provide employee recognition and appreciation.

Although individual recognition and monetary incentives are acceptable motivation methods, many employees prefer a team-based reward system. In an article written by Bob Harrington in the San Diego Business Journal (1997), "Individual reward systems create unnecessary competition and reduce cooperation between employees. It is also reduces creativity because employees will only do what is necessary to get rewarded." (Harrington, 1997). Harrington (1997) also asserts that team-based incentives influence individuals to work well together and cooperate with one