Employee motivation
What motivates an employee?
By Kimmo Rantonen University of
Jyväskylä 2012
What its all about
• ” Employee motivation is the level of energy,
commitment, and creativity that a company's
workers apply to their jobs.”[1]
• “Motivation is a driving force within an individual
to do something well. Motivation is particular to
an individual so it is important to find out what
factors drive each person.”[2]
What its all about
• “Employee motivation can sometimes be particularly
problematic for small businesses, where the owner
often has spent so many years building a company that
he/she finds it difficult to delegate meaningful
responsibilities to others.”[1]
• “On the other hand, small businesses can also provide
an ideal atmosphere for fostering employee
motivation, because employees are able to see the
results of their contributions in a more immediate way
than in large firms.”[1]
Introduction
• This presentation aims to help managers to
assess their own company from the point of view
of employee motivation
• Some key factors in employee motivation will be
presented and if a manager notices a particular
key factor that might be wrong in ones own
company they can look up the subject themselves
for further information
• This presentation is a type of summary from
other source materials (see list of references in
the end for further reading)
Introduction
• Is money everything?
– Compensation is the primary motivator [3]
• Real motivation comes from within
• There are extrinsic(money) and intrinsic(rewards
from performing the work itself) rewards [5]
• For motivation both rewards are needed
• Contents for this presentation taken from other
sources (see list of references in the end)
Monetary incentives [3]
• Even though money isn’t everything it is the
primary motivator for motivation
• Wage and salary are two different things
• Wage = hours worked
• Salary = amount paid regardless of hours
worked
• Important to distinct the two because
– Legal problems
– Employee dissatisfaction!
Monetary incentives [3]
• Wage/salary must be high enough to motivate
and attract good employees!
• Wage must reflect the work performed
– Wage in relation to other similar jobs in the area
• Is there a regular increase in pay?
– Is it enough to match the increasing cost of living
in the area?
Monetary incentives [3]
• Non monetary benefits(that save money)
– Benefits not required by the law can be a great
way to motivate good employees
• New methods for paying wages and salary are
also something to consider
– Paying for performance
– Offering bonuses for coming up with ways to save
in costs
– Paying for knowledge instead of position
Employee autonomy [4]
• “Autonomy is the degree to which a job
provides an employee with the discretion and
independence to schedule their work and
determine how it is to be done. Higher levels
of autonomy on the job have been shown to
increase job satisfaction, and in some cases,
motivation to perform the job.”[4]
Employee autonomy [4]
• Too much autonomy can also be dissatisfying
– employee autonomy should be determined
individually
• Same applies to teams working in a firm
• When done properly, employee autonomy
encourages individuals to use their own
strengths to get the job done!
“Motivating job”[1]
• Motivating job by Turner and Lawrence
• 1. Worker feels personally responsible for a
meaningful portion of the work accomplished
• 2. Job provides intrinsic rewards to the
individual i.e. worker feels that the outcome
of he’s/her work truly benefits organization
and others
• 3. Constructive feedback/critique motivates
for improvement
Intrinsic rewards
• Why these rewards matter?
• Money and other monetary compensations
can only stop the employee from being
dissatisfied [2]
• According to Herzberg real motivation comes
from within[2]
– Personal targets and self development
• Intrinsic rewards make workers more
productive![2]
Methods for increasing motivation [1]
• Empowerment
– More responsibility(autonomy)
• Creativity and innovation
– Giving an opportunity to those who know the job
best, to use their own ideas to improve the job
without fear of manager disapproval and ridicule
– Creating culture that promotes creativity and
innovation
Methods for increasing motivation [1]
• Learning
– Promoting ways to employee skill enhancement
• Quality of life
– Flexibility in work hours etc. so that work life and
other responsibilities are better aligned
• Other incentives
– Small but repeating gestures, such as sincere
praise on good job, can do much for small cost!
Managers role
• Managers and leaders are those who either
make or break the motivation of employees
• “Research has shown that poor leadership
may affect levels of employee motivation,
reduce productivity or even impact on a
business' reputation.” [7]
Morale [6]
• “From a managerial perspective, morale
embodies the collective spirit and motivation of a
group of employees”[6]
• Managers have the biggest influence on morale in
a company
• Certain practices or techniques have been
identified that boost morale and therefore
motivation
Manager as morale booster [6]
• practicing of fairness and consistency
• bestowing praise in public while leveling
criticism in private
• encouraging humor and fun in the workplace
• communication, communication,
communication
• listening and remaining receptive to new ideas
Manager as morale booster [6]
• getting to know something about employees'
personal lives and treating them as individuals
• creating opportunities for employees to learn
and grow
• sharing decision making and offering
employees choices
• promoting from within
• leading by example
Conclusions
• The purpose of this presentation has been to
point out certain factors that improve
motivation in a company
• Due to different restrictions these factors
cannot be elaborated in detail so instead, the
purpose is to promote inspiration in managers
to look some of these things up for
themselves if a certain problem, presented
here, exists in ones own company
Conclusions
• Motivation is always personal!
• Motivation comes from within!
• The more you know your employees the
better you can improve their motivation
• Money is important but it’s not enough!
List of references
• [1]: Employee Motivation - advantage, benefits, cost, What
motivates?, Motivation
methods, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/DiEq/Employee-Motivation.html#ixzz1xCKjSocf
• [2]: Motivation in action An Enterprise Rent-A-Car case
study, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/enterprise-rent-acar/motivation-in-action/#ixzz1xCLJfEAE
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/enterprise-rent-acar/motivation-in-action/#ixzz1xCLJfEAE
• [3] Employee Compensation - type, benefits, cost,
Determining wages and salaries, Compensation
laws, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/DiEq/Employee-Compensation.html#ixzz1xCMTt7dB
List of references
• [4]: Autonomy - organization, levels, manager,
company, workplace, Employee autonomy, Managerial
autonomy http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/man
agement/A-Bud/Autonomy.html#ixzz1xCNBLLb1
• [5]: Employee Motivation –
benefits, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encycl
opedia/Eco-Ent/EmployeeMotivation.html#ixzz1xCOu75Bh
• [6]: Morale - manager, school, model, company,
workplace,
business, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/mana
gement/Mar-No/Morale.html#ixzz1xCPECBSl
List of references
• [7]: The importance of effective management,
A Chartered Management Institute case study,
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/cmi/theimportance-of-effectivemanagement/introduction.html#ixzz1xCQxxcg