Motivating Employees

Motivating Employees, December 2012

Learning Workshop: All About People

Motivating Employees

Research Questions

The businesses who attended the All About People learning group requested some

research on motivating teams and staff. This short research bulletin addresses

these issues, focusing in particular on the following research objectives:

Examine what motivates employees in the work place.

Explore how employers can get the best out of their employees through

motivation techniques.

Explore how employers can get the most out of new staff members.

Background

Motivation can be seen as the the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish

personal and organisational goals (Williams, 2010). Having a highly motivated team

of employees can be critical to the success of a business. Companies which

succeed in leading and motivating their staff will not only experience higher levels of

staff retention, but also increased profits, productivity and innovation (Business Link,

2010). Staff motivation is if anything even more important in small businesses where

cost issues mean that employers need their staff to devote a full measure of effort

to their jobs (Scanlan, 1973)

The research

Key motivations

The literature suggests that there are a range of factors which motivate employee

performance, stretching from economic incentives (such as pay and conditions) to

the type of work provided and the culture of the organisation. Some commentators

also make a distinction between factors which positively motivate employees and

those which prevent de-motivation and de-moralisation.

Stimulating and challenging work

Traditionally the human resources literature tended to focus on carrot and stick

initiatives to motivate employees, such as salary levels, and other external factors.

However Herzberg discovered that while such factors as poor pay, unnecessary

regulation and uncomfortable working conditions may explain de-motivation, their

absence does not necessarily make people work harder or smarter (Williams, 2010).

Instead motivation comes from internal factors, such as interesting and challenging


work and increased responsibility (Williams, 2010). This is particularly significant for

SMEs which may struggle to address all of the factors behind de-motivation.

A number of commentators suggest that employees will be more motivated if they

are provided with stimulating and challenging work. Wallis (2012) argues for the

importance of providing employees with opportunities and challenges which will

allow them to demonstrate their value. Similarly Business Link (2010) suggested

that employees will be more motivated with varied and interesting work.

Rewards

In contrast to the above, Imberman (2012) argues that the economic crisis has

meant employees now see basic financial rewards such as salary, and particularly

job security, as much more important, compared to non-economic motivations,

including employee engagement.

In addition to large-scale incentives like a competitive salary, small small-scale

rewards like employee of the month have also been mentioned by some

commentators (Crimson Business, 2009). However, according to Imberman (2012)

while the absence of such initiatives as preferred parking places, service awards and

Christmas parties may demotivate and demoralise staff, they offer little positive

motivation in themselves, when compared to pay and conditions.

Work culture

Several commentators argue that employee motivation is influenced by the culture of

the business. Remillard (2012) argues that employees respond well to a

performance based culture, while others point to the need for flexibility, a good work-

life balance, and the provision of social events (Crimson Business Ltd, 2009). Sadri

(2011) suggests that the work-life balance is much more important to employees

than it was ten, or even five, years ago.

Goals and feedback

Many commentators suggest that employees respond well to formal procedures for

assessing and reviewing performance. The presence of a set of specific and

measurable goals which are in line with the needs of the business as whole are seen

as an important driver of employee motivation, as is setting the time aside to give

thorough feedback (Remillard, 2012; Bank of Scotland, n.d.).


Engagement and involvement

Best practice human resources literature argues that employee engagement

practices deliver high returns in terms of motivation (Rehman, 2012). The Bank of

Scotland (n.d.) highlight the importance of involving employees in the business by:

keeping people informed about how the business is doing; discussing major changes

and decisions before they happen and as part of that decision-making process; and

the provision of training opportunities, including encouraging employees to ask for

training when they need it.

A framework for motivating employees

It should be noted that listening to what employees themselves are saying is an

essential step towards developing successful motivation techniques (Feuer, 2011).

Furthermore while managers may feel they are effectively delegating responsibility to

their employees, the employees themselves may have a very different perception of

their involvement in the organisation (Scanlon, 1973). However the literature does

provide an important framework for developing specific motivation initiatives.

Nohria et al (2008) developed a new model of employee motivation which

incorporates many of the factors listed above and sets out a number of actions which

employers can undertake. As well as the desire to acquire (which relates to

economic rewards and status) and the desire to comprehend (which involves

having meaningful work), Nohria et all also identify a desire to bond, where

employees feel proud of belonging to an organisation, as well as a desire to defend

which involves their concern around change (particularly any form of restructuring).

Importantly all four of the drivers are considered to be equally critical to motivation

(Nohria et al, 2008). For example, you cannot just pay your employees a high salary

and hope theyll feel enthusiastic about their work if bonding is not fostered and work

seems meaningless (Nohria et al, 2008).


Drivers, levers and actions necessary for employee motivation:

Drive Primary Lever Actions

Acquire

Reward System Sharply differentiate good performers from average performers

Tie rewards clearly to performance

Pay as well as your competitors

Bond

Culture Foster mutual reliance and friendship among co-workers

Value collaboration and teamwork

Encourage sharing of best practices

Comprehend

Job Design Design jobs that have distinct and important roles in the organisation

Design jobs that are meaningful and foster a sense of contribution to the organisation

Defend Performance-Management and Resource-Allocation Processes

Increase the transparency of all processes

Emphasise their fairness

Build trust, being just and transparent in granting rewards, assignments, and other forms of recognition

(Nohria, Groysberg & Lee, 2008)

Motivating new employees

Ensuring that the work itself is interesting and challenging is particularly important

when it comes to motivating new employees, where economic incentives (once they

have been hired) may not be initially so relevant. It is particularly important to make

sure any new employees are motivated from week one. While the literature on

motivating new employees specifically is more limited, Kelsey (2012) outlines 10 top

tips, which also provide a set of practical steps for making sure employees are given

stimulating and challenging work:


Conclusion

The research outlines some of the key factors behind employee motivation and de-

motivation and sets out some techniques which employers may want to consider

introducing to motivate their staff. While some of the literature does focus on

financial incentives, other commentators feel that the type of work provided and the

level of responsibility required are critical drivers for employee motivation, particularly

where new staff members are concerned. Consequently while small and medium

sized businesses (SMEs) should not ignore financial incentives, they could look to

maximise the non-economic motivations of employees, given the difficult financial

environment.

10 Tips for motivating new employees:

1) Paint a broad picture. Tell new recruits how what they do fits into the wider world.

2) Delegate meaningfully. Give them work tasks which present a meaningful

challenge, something which is important, from the start.

3) Practice one-minute management. Try to make work instructions brief and

beware of micro-management.

4) Be on hand but not domineering. If the new recruit gets stuck dont say thats fine

leave it to me, but offer them guidance on what direction to head in.

5) Insist on a complete project even first time. State the end result required and

expect a version of that result, not a half version. Even if they need to start again it is

better that they learn how to do this themselves for future reference.

6) Go through the whole project with them. Once they have handed over a complete

first project its important to go through it with them, providing both positive and

negative feedback where relevant.

7) If poor make them start again. Dont ever say thanks but itll take me 20 minutes to

do it myself as the employee will become increasingly convinced that theyre not up

to it.

8) Tutor them in the ways of the office (e.g. dress policy or time-keeping). It is

important that new team members feel part of the team as soon as possible and

offering guidance on the culture of the company is vital in this respect.

9) Get them in front of the client. It is important to make them feel involved in the A-Z

of the process as soon as possible and this usually involves getting them in front of

clients.

10) Listen to them. New employees, particularly if they are graduates, may have new

ideas about how the company can win work. It is important to listen to them even if

you decide not to act.

(Kelsey, 2012)


Annex Business Case

Case study: PJ Locums

PJ Locums is a privately owned recruitment agency placing healthcare personnel

from overseas in the health and social care sectors. Developing and applying

leadership skills has transformed the business.

The company restructured the team in order delegate tasks and plan ahead, and

found it important to develop strategic measures and systems that staff can follow.

The company introduced:

- Weekly company meetings, staff surveys, team-building events, away-days to

gain feedback

- Training, appraisals and career progression

- Money: bonuses, a new commission system to encourage staff to exceed

targets

- Involve staff in decision making, create a collaborative working environment

- Company culture based on: trust, teamwork, communication and shared

goals

Results: In 18 months, growth accelerated dramatically, with turnover up from 1.25 million to 3.6 million. Lessons learned:

- "When you're leading and motivating staff to achieve business goals, you can

lose sight of a life outside work. We had to force ourselves to ditch the 'work

all hours' mentality."

(Business Link, 2010)


References:

Bank of Scotland (n.d.) Motivating and Retaining Key Staff. Available at: http://www.bankofscotlandbusiness.co.uk/pdf/motivating-staff.pdf (Accessed: 17th December) Business Link (2010) Lead and motivate your staff. [Online]. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120823131012/http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1077340434 (Accessed: 3rd December).

Crimson Business Ltd (2009) Keeping staff motivated. Growing Business [Online]. Available

at: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/keeping-staff-motivated.html (Accessed: 17th

December)

Feuer (2011) How best to motivate your team: Smart Business Chicago, 8 (9) p.30 [Online].

Available at: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/62654284/how-best-motivate-your-

team

Imberman, I. (2012) Motivating Employees: What Works? What Doesnt Work?. Foundry Management and Technology [Online]. Available at: http://foundrymag.com/feature/motivating-employees-what-works-what-doesn-t-work (Accessed: 17th December) Nohria, N., Groysberg, B. & Lee, L.-E. (2008) Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model. Harvard Business Review, 86 (7/8). pp 78-84. Available at: http://hbr.org/product/employee-motivation-a-powerful-new-model/an/R0807G-PDF-ENG (Accessed: 17th December) Rehman, S. (2012) A Study of Public Sector Organisations with Respect to Recruitment, Job Satisfaction and Retention. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal 4 (1) pp. 76-89. Available from SERIO on request. Remillard, B. Motivating Top Talent in De-Motivating Times. Ceramic Industry August 2013 [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=25&sid=aa0a8aff-0c40-4ad0-a162-e8cd6e211d17%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=78403295 (Accessed: 17th December)

Sadri, (2011) Meeting employee requirements: Maslow's hierarchy of needs is still a reliable guide to motivating staff, Industrial Engineer [Online]. Available at: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/66247063/meeting-employeee-requirements-maslows-hierarchy-needs-still-reliable-guide-motivating-staff (Accessed: 17th December) Scanlon, K.B. (1973) Motivating Employers in the Small Business. Journal of Small Business Management. 11 (3), pp.1-6. Wallis, A. (2012) How to Reward Your Top Sales Professionals. Aaron Wallis Recruitment and Training Ltd. Available at: http://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/how-to-reward-top-sales-staff.aspx (Accessed: 22nd November). Williams, R.B. (2010) How to motivate employees: What managers need to know. Psychology Today [Online]. Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201002/how-motivate-employees-what-managers-need-know-0


SERIO Research Team Research and Innovation Adrian Dawson Plymouth University Lorna Bell Tamar Science Park Charles Dorr 9 Research Way Ciara McFerran Derriford Helen Scales Plymouth, PL6 8BT T: 01752 588997 F: 01752 588987 E: [email protected] Web: On its way!

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