Subtleties to Consider in Employee Motivation at Google, Samsung, and Toyota - Essay Example

The question on how to create a motivated workforce has bedeviled HR professionals and managers fora long period of time. Some HR officials and managers denote that paying employees more money is an important motivational tool and it will ensure that these employees are able to meet their objectives, and that of the business organization. There are other managers and HR officials who believe that financial and material rewards are not motivating factors for employees. These professionals believe that employees of a business organization are motivated by prestige, desire to increase their power, and opportunities for growth within a company (Branham and Hirschfeld, 2010). Other managers and HR officials believe that the work environment that comprises of treating employees with respect, and providing interesting work to them plays a great role in motivating these employees. Each and every of these explanations has some relevance and some truth in it; however, one theory cannot adequately explain how to motivate employees of an organization (Loehr and Kaye, 2011). This is because people are not purely political, economic, and psychological beings. On this basis, this paper asserts that employees of an organization need material, emotional, and social benefits as motivating factors. One of the methods of motivating employees is giving them the vision of the company. The management must also provide them with the methods of achieving this mission and vision of the company. All most all serious business organizations have an outline of their vision, and they normally require employees to satisfy and fulfill these visions (Loehr and Kaye, 2011, p. 33). Take for example the vision of Barclays bank is to become a premier banking institution in Europe, offering high quality banking services, and innovative solutions (Branham and Hirschfeld, 2010). When employees of an organization are aware of the vision of a company, they will work hard to ensure that they are able to meet the organizations vision. Creating and communicating the vision of a company is a psychological motivating factor. Another method of motivating employees is giving them what they need and want. It is important for managers of an organization to check whether employees have the necessary tools, support and training needed for purposes of carrying out their duties. Take for example a hospital organization that has employed doctors and nurses. The organization must provide these employees with the various tools needed for carrying out their duties, and this includes aprons, gloves, syringes, etc. By providing the necessary tools needed to carry out their profession, managers of an organization will manage to motivate their employees, and as a result, achieving efficiency in the manner in which these employees carry out their duties (Branham and Hirschfeld, 2010). Training of employees has been an important motivating tool that most organizations. Companies such as Barclays Bank, Northrop Grumman, Wal-Mart, General Motors, Samsung, Toyota, etc normally have a training policy whereby they identify talent amongst their employees, after which they will train the talented employees to improve on their skills (Lindholm, 2012). For example Samsung operates programs referred to as e-campus, and multi campus training programs targeting their employees. The purpose of these training programs is to enable the employees of this organization to improve on their skills, and hence achieve career growth. Efficient communication is also another method that managers of an organization can use for purposes of motivating their employees (Lindholm, 2012). This includes the use of memos, newsletters, email addresses, and newsletters to communicate an organization’s mission, vision, or new policies. Communication also involves giving out feedbacks on the performance of an employee. This is a motivating factor, because employees usually need recognition. Provision of feedbacks is an important method of recognizing the employees of an organization, hence motivating them to work hard. Another method of motivating a workforce is to make them engaged in the affairs of the organization. It is important for an organization to involve its employees in the decision making process, as this will make them to have a sense of ownership and loyalty to the organization under consideration. This type of motivational policy has been used by Google Corp, with a lot of success (Lindholm, 2012, p. 41). The management of Google, normally involves its employees into the decision making process, especially in deciding some important polices such as introducing a new product into the company, or the kind of people who should be hired by the company (Fargus, 2000). The company will also benefit from this motivational method, because it will get new ideas, on how to develop the company under consideration. Managers can also develop incentive programs aimed at motivating their employees. These includes paying them good salaries, offering gifts to the best employees, training these employees, and providing an opportunity for promotion to an employee who is efficient in his or her work (Fargus, 2000). Companies such as Apple have been voted as the best companies to work with. This is because employees working at Apples have good remuneration packages, there are opportunities for growth. There employees are also involved in the process of making decision within the company (Lindholm, 2012). It is important to denote that having a motivated workforce is very important for the business organization. The following are the benefits of having a motivated workforce; It will lead to an improved productivity amongst employees of the organization. Employees will be contented with their working lives, leading to low absenteeism. High rate of retaining employees of an organization. There will be an improvement in relation between the organization, and various trade unions responsible for protecting employees. Employees of the organization will manage to improve the quality of their products and services. In conclusion, motivation is a very important concept that managers of an organization must always consider. In motivating employees, monetary rewards are not sufficient, and this is because employees also have political and social needs. On this basis, while developing motivational policies, it is essential for the managers of an organization to carry out a research on the various needs of its employees. The management must also learn from the success stories of companies that have motivated their employees. This includes companies such as Google, Samsung, Toyota, etc. Bibliography: Branham, L., & Hirschfeld, M. (2010). Re-engage how Americas best places to work inspire extra effort in extraordinary times. New York: McGraw-Hill. Fargus, P. (2000). Measuring and improving employee motivation. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Lindholm, J. (2012). The encyclopedia of human resource management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Loehr, A., & Kaye, J. (2011). Managing the unmanageable: how to motivate even the most unruly employee. Pompton Plains, NJ: Career Press. Read More