The Motivation Theories and Staff Retention at Web Design Companies - Essay Example

In the changed global scenario, the traditional system of management no longer works. Attrition rate in most industries is very high with the IT sector and the web designing sector having significantly high rates. Thus motivation plays an important role. Motivation again is no more based on compensation alone and various factors like career paths, job satisfaction and skill match have become essential. Motivation differs across nations and also depends upon role clarity. Various theorists have espoused theories on motivation and there would be considered here. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that the basic physiological needs have to be met first before a person can look ahead. Only when the basic needs are satisfied he clamors for safety needs, need for love, self-esteem or self-actualization. As one need is somewhat fulfilled, the other needs become important and this motivates or influences his behavior (Accel-Team, 2006). This corroborates with Herzberg who proposed that an employee’s motivation is understood when his attitude is understood (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). Herzberg determined that happy feelings or a positive attitude was always task-related while the bad attitude or unpleasant feelings depend upon the surroundings. These are the motivators and include recognition, achievement, career advancement and the work itself. These motivators cause positive job attitudes because they satisfy the need for self-actualization, which is the last in the hierarchy of needs of Maslow. Motivation differs significantly from satisfaction. Motivation to work can come from external factors or from within. Organizational commitment itself is a motivating factor and no satisfaction with job is a demotivating factor. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs basically speculates that people’s needs are satisfied progressively, only when basic needs are met do their aspirations rise and other goals are set. Thus when the employees are motivated, their dedication and initiative increases as Brown et al., (2005) suggest that the need for self-training arises only later. Employees should be able to identify with the firm’s style which gives rise to the necessity of self-training. Knowledge about the work is essential and continued training in the digital communications firms is considered essential. According to Herzberg two factors act upon the motivation of employees – the hygiene factors and the motivators. Hygienes are the intrinsic entities while motivators are intrinsic (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). According to Herzberg motivators cause positive job attitudes because they satisfy the workers need for self-actualization, which according to Maslow is the need for self-actualization, which is an individual’s ultimate goal. These motivators have the potential to give job satisfaction but the absence of these motivators does not result in dissatisfaction. These motivators include recognition, achievement, growth prospects, responsibility and the work itself. Most employees are not clear about the roles and responsibilities, no role clarity, which leads to no satisfaction of job as the motivators according to Herzberg (cited by Tietjen & Myers, 1998) are not present. These factors can have a lasting impression on worker’s attitude, satisfaction and thus work. Enhanced sustained job quality and thereby satisfaction does not result from the work environment or the running of the air conditioner but it relies on the organizational commitment of the employee, role clarity or the basic duty assigned, and all those intrinsic feelings that produce positive attitude about the duty. Work brings fulfillment and the attainment of the higher order of needs as specified by Maslow (cited by Tietjen & Myers, 1998). Hence, when the workers performance steadily declines, the manager should give it due importance because it is not due to the lack of facilities or enforcement of rules by the management but the job role and expectations should be clearly laid out. Job satisfaction has been defined as an attitudinal state which reflects all the affective feelings that a person has about the job, cite Biggs and Swailes (2006). This includes growth, pay, co-workers and supervisors that contribute towards satisfaction in varying degrees. Work brings fulfilment and the attainment of the higher order of needs as specified by Maslow (cited by Tietjen & Myers, 1998). These factors can have a lasting impression on worker’s attitude, satisfaction and thus work. Turnover of staff in the labor market is the rotation of workers between firms, jobs and occupations – between the states of employment and unemployment (Bontis & Fitz-enz, 2002). This can either be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary turnover occurs when the employee resigns and research suggests that this happens when the organizations are unable to effectively manage their turnover. This suggests that the employee could not even fulfill the first level needs, according to Maslow. Yet another theory states that if difficult but achievable goals are set by the manager, many become motivated to achieve it because the risks involved are high and so are the outcomes (McClelland, 2006). There are some who are contented with low gains and prefer to take no risks while the gamblers are those who take a reasonable amount of risk for moderate benefits. These are the achievement-motivated people who feel their efforts and abilities will influence the outcome. They are more concerned with the personal achievement than with the reward of success. Motivation can range from salary enhancement or holiday incentives. Only if people want to do things and are encouraged to do things well can they be relied on to actually do them really well. Motivation provides reasons for people to want to deliver good performance (Forsyth 2000) but today motivation means much beyond pay packages. Forsyth (2000) and Bardi (1996) both concur in regards to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McGregor’s theory X and theory Y. McGregor’s theory X: Makes the assumption that people are lazy, uninterested in work or responsibility and thus must be pushed and cajoled in order to get anything done in a disciplined way, with reward assisting the process to some degree. McGregor’s theory Y: Takes the opposite view. It assumes people want to work. They enjoy achievement, gain satisfaction from responsibility and are naturally inclined to seek ways of making work a positive experience. Lower turnover rates yield a higher base of organizational knowledge and less deterioration of experiential learning. Quantitative research reveals that employee commitment has a positive influence on knowledge generation. According to Gordon (2002) financial packages do not hold importance today and what matters is for the managers to know what the employees value. Career prospects, relationships with the coworkers and job satisfaction can help minimize staff turnover. Escalating salaries in the IT firms does not reduce the staff turnover. According to Nelson and Todd (2004) the work itself, flexibility and autonomy, work environment, reward and recognition, have the most significant effect on job satisfaction which is turn leads to higher retention of staff. Person-Organization (P-O) fit is the new approach that attempts to understand the selection process as this is directly related to talent retention within the organization (Westerman & Cyr, 2004). High employee turnover is a consequence of poor P-O fit. There is a direct relationship between fit and the employee’s intention to remain within the organization. Available literature suggests that fit influences turnover through job dissatisfaction and lack of commitment. Increased job satisfaction comes from updating of skills which in turn gives a sense of belonging and benefit to the employee, apart from commitment to the organization. All this is possible with the right training given to an individual (cited by Acton & Golden, 2002). Retention of employees and the valued skill sets are important for continued business achievements contend Mak and Sockel (1999) and retention of employees leads to preservation of knowledge within the organization (Cappelli 2000, cited by Acton & Golden). Employee training programs lead to greater employee commitment and it creates a culture that leads to values of long-term employment. Exit interviews reveal that poor relationships with supervisors are the reasons for voluntary turnover, which demonstrates that senior management should possess leadership management (Bontis & Fitz-enz). Recently there has been devolution of HR duties to line managers which has seen greater participation of the front line managers. While views of this too are divergent, line managers have direct contact with the employees and can increase motivation and better relations. Line managers are constantly in contact with the employees and for most of the employees, their immediate superiors represent the management of the company (Brewster & Larsen 1992). Certain issues are too complex for the top management to comprehend and it is easier for the local managers to respond fast to it (Budhwar, 2000). Studies suggest that supervisory leadership was the strongest factor associated to organizational commitment (Purcell & Hutchinson, 2007). When the front line managers were entrusted with performance appraisal, labor turnover fell well below average. The senior managers attributed this improvement to the changes made to the team leader role, using the front line managers for direct contact and supervision. Quantitative research confirms that satisfaction leads to both commitment and motivation and commitment further influences motivation (Bontis & Fitz-enz). Employee motivation leads to knowledge sharing and employee commitment leads to retention of key people. Organizations that support and encourage innovation, would also know what it is about their culture that gives them a competitive advantage. There has been rapid change in the organizational structure in the UK where large corporations have broken up. In Spain ambition plays and important role and training provides mobility to staff in different countries within the sector (Fluixà, Saurin, & Ros Garrido, (2002). Training alone does not help and has to be equally supported by experience. Web designing is a creative skill and most of it has to arise from within. It cannot be duplicated. In Italy it is impossible to control workers while the larger companies talk about corporations. Hierarchical powers is employed in Italy rather than evaluating individual resources the employees in Italy are aware that they do not have control over their own time but still they need to be so well organized that they can avoid anxiety, stress and dissatisfaction. A work-life balance thus becomes essential and they need to spend sufficient time with their families. They can also opt for flexible working schedules. In the new organizational structures, the employees in Italy are willing to stabilize their positions and develop new relationships based on loyalty, trust, reliability, and solidarity. The capability of the employee has become very important which means the P-O fit is of great significance. There has to be a continuous interaction between two kinds of knowledge – tacit and codified. Thus, it can been, be it in any field, motivation has a great role to play. Compensation packages are not the criteria for an employee to join or leave any organization. There are various other factors like career progression, line managers, corporate communication, and commitment to the organization, job satisfaction, role clarity, appropriate training and skill match. Knowledge retention within the organization is essential also. The employees will seek anything else only when the basic needs are satisfied. The organizational structure has undergone a change to better cater to the external as well as the internal customers – the employees. References: Accel-Team (2006), Employee Motivation, the Organizational Environment and Productivity, [Accessed 25 Dec 2007] Acton, T., & Golden, W., (2002), Training: The Way to Retain Valuable IT Employees? [Accessed 25 Dec 2007] Bardi, J. (1996) “Hotel Front Office Management” 2nd Edition, New York: Van Nortrand Reinhold. Biggs, D. & Swailes, S. (2006), Relations, commitment and satisfaction in agency workers and permanent workers, Employee Relations, Vol. 28 No. 2, 2006pp. 130-143 Bontis, N., & Fitz-enz, J., (2002), Intellectual Capital ROI: a causal map of human capital antecedents and consequents, Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 3 No. 3 pp. 223-247 Brewster, C. 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