Employee Motivation - Essay Example

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION Employee motivation Introduction Every organization wants to get the best out of its employees. To get maximum return per employee, human resource experts drum up the importance of a happy work force (Torrington et al 2014). Many theories have come up over the years on how to get employees to deliver. From theories that force them to work for the paycheck (Theory X management), to theories on how to dialogue with employees, and get them doing what they are supposed to do (Theory Y management). At some point, management Guru Peter Drunker came up with a theory called management by objective. Under this theory, return per worker is measured based on an employee’s ability to deliver on set metrics (Torrington et al, 2014). An employee’s emotional aspects to performance are excluded from this approach to management. Nevertheless, none of these theories have satisfactorily answered the question, what motivates employees? Is it money or is it how they are treated at the workplace? While some scholars believe that money is a key motivator to employee performance, there are others who believe that beyond a certain level of income, money ceases to be a primary motivator, and how an employee is treated at the workplace plays a bigger role in work motivation. Having worked for X Corporation for the last three months, I have to come to understand that while money is a factor, it plays a very minimal role in employee motivation. This paper will seek to prove the hypothesis that it is room for creativity, growth and security that motivates employees as opposed to monetary incentives. Hypothesis: Room for creativity, growth and security override monetary rewards in employee motivation. Scenario one that proves hypothesis During my first week at X Corporation, I was assigned to a group of ten individuals, and our role was to do direct marketing for a product the company was test running. Six of us were on permanent employment terms while the other four were remunerated on commission basis. The campaign was to run for four weeks. The product we were to test run is an everyday commodity and was easy to market. That means the four commission guys were earning almost ten times more than us, since their commission was billed per product. During the first two weeks of marketing, average sales for the team were at par. We were all pushing product at a very high rate, and the commission guys were making a kill. However, as we entered the third week, sales for the four commission guys started to plummet. They would show up late for work, and other times express rudeness to clients who were not quick to understand, what the product was all about. When I sort to know why they were behaving this way yet their pay was directly correlated to their sales, they said that they were more concerned about the future than their current earnings. In a week’s time, the company would push the product through television, and other mass media and their services would no longer be needed. One of them told me that he would be willing to trade his huge commission for a more secure role at the company. This scenario resonates with an article on employee motivation published in the November 26th 2013 Issue of Forbes magazine on employee motivation. According to the article author Ken Sundheim, job security is a bigger motivator to employee performance than high monetary rewards in an uncertain environment. The argument is that while money is important, it is the ability to feel secure enough to plan for a predictable future that motivates employees to give their best in an organization. Scenario two that proves hypothesis After working for a month at X Corporation, it came to my attention that different departments had different remuneration structures. Employees working in finance and accounting were the highest paid, while those in I.T support were the lowest remunerated. Ironically, the I.T support guys were always the happiest and ready to try out different techniques of making the company more technologically efficient. On their part, the finance and accounting guys were always complaining, and a number of them had a job placement company in their bookmarks. That means they were constantly in the hunt for new employment opportunities. This is in spite the fact that X Corporation is among the highest paying employers in the country. When I asked finance guy why most of his colleagues were dissatisfied with the job, his answer was that, they feel like it’s a dead end job. All they do is push paper all day, as all the accounting and asset allocation policies were pushed on them from above. They had little room to exercise their creativity and skills. I then sort to know from an I.T support guy why they always seemed so jovial in spite of their low ranking in pay being a publicly known matter (within the company). His response was that they have the best department head ever. He allows them to test their geek skills on the company systems. He told me they are currently trying out an anti-malware software, which if it works will make them heroes in the I.T community. The contrast between the level of motivation in these two departments is substantial and, yet is has nothing to do with money. The finance department employees would trade their high paying jobs for opportunities in low paying but creativity challenging companies, while the I.T guys are so motivated by their roles, in spite of the fact they can many times more, if they exercised their role in a Silicon valley company. This scenario goes to prove the hypothesis that room for creativity and growth are more important than money in employee motivation. As Gallo points out in the February 29th 2008 issue of Bloomberg weekly, moods are contagious. According to Gallo, a manager who walks around with a smile is a great positive influence to his employees. By showing positive energy, a manager can get employees to work better, even without the additional incentive of a higher pay. Gallo’s observation resonates with the I.T departments’ employees high levels of motivation simply because of their supervisor’s positive energy and dynamic nature, which allows those under him, exercise their creative instincts. Conclusion The hypothesis is true. From each of the above scenarios, it is clear that room for creativity and growth are greater employee motivators than monetary rewards. As such, an organization should focus more on improving the overall working conditions, for it to attract and retain the best talent in its field of operation. References Carmine Gallo (2008, February 29th). Employee motivation the Ritz-Carlton Way. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-02-29/employee-motivation-the-ritz-carlton-waybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice Ken Sundheim (2013, November 26th). What really motivates employees? Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundheim/2013/11/26/what-really-motivates-employees/ Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, S., & Atkinson, C. (2014). Human resource management. Read More