How Employee Motivation Can Boost Your Organisation Performance.

How Employee Motivation Can Boost Your Organisation Performance.

 Prasanna .Sap

Introduction

Employee motivation is one of the most important factors that determine the success of an organization. Motivated employees are more productive, engaged, and committed to their work, which leads to better performance and overall success for the company. In this article, we will explore the ways in which employee motivation can boost organizational performance.

Human Motivation Theory (David McClelland)  

Achievement

• Has a strong need to set and accomplish challenging goals.
• Takes calculated risks to accomplish their goals.
• Likes to receive regular feedback on their progress and achievements.
• Often likes to work alone.

Affiliation

• Wants to belong to the group.
• Wants to be liked, and will often go along with whatever the rest of the group wants to do.
• Favours collaboration over competition.
• Doesn't like high risk or uncertainty.

  Power

• Wants to control and influence others.
• Likes to win arguments.
• Enjoys competition and winning.
• Enjoys status and recognition.

Powerful team members' motivation.

 Benefits of employee motivation

1. Higher productivity levels

It's no surprise that implementing employee motivation techniques can help employees work more productively, leading to better results. But few people know that a productive way of working can also have a positive impact on the employee experience by increasing job satisfaction.

2. More innovation

Motivated employees recognize opportunities for improvement by focusing on products and services and commit to working to improve them.

3. Lower levels of absenteeism

Motivated employees are satisfied with their work and have clear goals in mind. These employees are less likely to be absent unreasonably because they believe that taking unreasonable time off from work will prevent them from fulfilling their responsibilities.

4. Lower levels of staff turnover 

Motivated employees are more likely to stay in their jobs because they see the results of their efforts and believe they can continue to make a difference in the company. Employee turnover can be reduced, which reduces company training and recruitment costs. 

5. Great reputation and stronger recruitment

As we all know, people talk about the things they like and more importantly, the things they don`t like. Satisfied employees spread this information, giving the company a positive reputation as an employer. As a result, attracting top talent is much easier.

How employees can motivate?

Provide clear expectations

People need to know exactly what you want them to do and the results you want them to achieve — the expected specific results. Weak managers assume people understand what’s required, don’t take time to spell out what they want, and then don’t make people accountable for achieving desired results. The norm is to tell people to work real hard and try your best. But, this doesn’t let people know exactly what’s expected. People must be told and understand exactly what you want, the specific end results. Examples of clear expectations include:

Provide regular recognition and praise

The second important action step you must use to get the results you want is to provide ongoing recognition and praise to the people who do the work. Weak and ineffective managers don’t take time to thank people for a job well done. Over time, this causes lackadaisical employees and poor results. In a survey of why people left their company, over 90% said they'd never been recognized or praised by their boss, ever, for anything.

People want and need feedback and positive reinforcement often for their contributions and efforts. Effective leaders give out praises at least every week to everyone in their sphere of influence. Use words like, “I appreciate you” and “Thanks for a great job.” Keep a simple chart in your day-timer to ensure you recognize all your staff on a regular basis. Strive to praise everyone at least every week and check it off on your chart so you won’t forget someone. Verbal praises work the best, but occasionally write short handwritten notes to those who went beyond the call of duty.

Provide a clear understanding of the big picture

The third thing your people need is a clear understanding of the big picture (company, employees, customers, projects, etc.) and how they fit in. Successful business owners, managers, and foreman are open and honest and tell employees where their company is going — it's vision, what the future has in store, positive and negatives, and changes or adjustment required to be successful. People need to know what’s happening; otherwise, they tend to think the worst.

Several times a month I present seminars to company managers who learn great ideas to build and improve their businesses. When they go back to their offices, their people are often afraid they've been scheming how to squeeze them to work harder. That's not reality, but without information people fear the worse. Successful leaders constantly tell the real deal — business is good or bad, the future is positive or negative, sales are up or down, productivity is acceptable or not, our people are doing a good job or not. Hold semi-annual, all company meetings plus monthly project and department meetings where the big picture is discussed and open to questions.

Provide a caring company attitude

The fourth action step is to let your people know you care about them as individuals. People need to know you appreciate them as employees and contributors to the company success. Employees want to know you care about them, their personal goals, future, personal development, and their children and family. People must know they're important. They want to know they will be listened to and have a say in the future of their company. 

To ensure you continuously show you care about your employees, keep a “team member profile” sheet on each person in your day-timer. Include their name, family members, schools, hobbies, sports, interests, goals, challenges, contributions, etc. This way you can refer to it on a regular basis and keep track of each team member’s life. By following these simple guidelines you will get your people to want to do what you want them to do, your people will respond and make your life better.

Conclusion

Motivated employees are more productive, engaged, and committed to their work, which can lead to improved organizational performance and profitability. To boost employee motivation, organizations should focus on creating a positive work environment, offering meaningful incentives and rewards, providing opportunities for growth and development, and recognizing and appreciating employees' efforts and contributions. By investing in employee motivation, organizations can create a culture of excellence and achieve their strategic goals and objectives.

References:

McClelland's Human Motivation Theory. Discovering What Drives Members of Your Team (online).https://www.mindtools.com/aznjntj/mcclellands-human-motivation-theory.

Benefits of employee motivation.(online),https://www.hifives.in/benefits-of-having-a-highly-motivated-workforce/

Tech Moths. (2021). Employee motivation and its effect on employee performance. [online] Available at: https://www.techmoths.com/business/employee-motivation-and-its-effect-on-employee-performance.

How employee can motivate,https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/article/21034176/4-steps-to-motivate-your-workforce-to-perform-their-best