What is motivation in HRM?
Motivation is the inner drive that directs a person's behavior
toward goals. Motivation can be defined as a process which energizes, directs
and sustains human behavior. In HRM the term
refers to person's desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum
effort to perform assigned tasks.Why do we need motivation?
During the past where there was a time for which the employees
were treated like just another machine to perform the subjected task. As the
human input is not consistent as other machines, the same job can be done in a
much better, quicker and efficient way by another human who is motivated and
passionate on the given task compared to the former. Along with the time it was
found that highly motivated people are more likely to perform much better than
the others in their respective job roles.
In conclusion motivating the employees is going to enhance the output of the designated tasks contributing in the success of an organization.
Ways of motivating the employees in an organization
Not everyone find their own motivation, generally it is the duty of the manager or the superior to
motivate their team/sub ordinate in order to harvest their fullest potential.
There are few ways and means to do that. One of the way is to observe their
performance in the stipulated time period and compare it to their job
description. If there is any gaps in between it’s the duty of the manager or
team leader to bridge the gap by a constructive evaluation. Based on the performance its ideal to give
prompt feedback so that if any issues, it wouldn’t be carried forward but
reciprocated immediately which is beneficial to the organization. In this manner neither the organization nor
the employee got the face a situation where the assigned task in not performed
on the due date. Employees need to be recognized and rewarded for exceeding the
expected performance. According to Professor Frederick W. Herzberg employee recognition
is a tremendous motivator hence its suggested for the organization to recognize
the employees during the staff meeting/gathering.
Promoting employees who perform well to leadership roles is
an effective method of motivation because not everyone is satisfied in only an increase in
pay thus reducing the risk of staff turnover. Different employees got different talents;
the organization needs to give an opportunity for the employees to volunteer
for tasks which are in their interested or passionate arenas resulting in boost
to their level of confidence. Generally employees
take pride in the quality of the work which they do, the organization needs to
take regular survey of the opinions of the employees because employees are happier and satisfied when they
realize their opinion matter to the organization.
Motivation will start on Appreciation.If in work first you can appreciate your colleagues works they will motivated suddenly.Also,everyone having so many problems on their current working conditions.So you can help to them manage their personal life & professional life as well
ReplyDeleteAppreciation must be most important triumph in the organisation.
ReplyDeleteYes it is one of the best possible way to satisfy an employee, the credits to their work should be given to them on a regular basis, maybe on a staff meeting.
DeleteThere will be loads of people who is willing to learn something new everyday in this case it would be great if the organization could give tips for improvement to, so the good work today will be great work tomorrow.
Motivating factors differ from one person to another. It is the managers responsibility to identify those different factors and build different strategies that will help employees achieve their expectations.
ReplyDeleteWhen we consider the business context, if the persons personality matches the job requirement there s a better chance for motivation.
Yes there are several types of personality tests available online.
DeleteEx. www.16personalities.com
Once we fill the questionnaire in this site, it will give us a better understanding of our personality type and there are sever other sites to try the same too.
Employee motivation is a key element in every organization. Most employees are enthusiastic when they start a new job. But their morale often declines after their first six months and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. To maintain employee’s enthusiasm, managers must understand the thing employee seek from their work and then satisfy these needs depends on both organizational policies and managers' everyday actions.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, individuals at different organization levels, with different earning power, may have different motivational values Ismail (2008). In addition motivational potency of the factors might vary according to gender, age, income level, job type and/or organizational level Kovach (1987).
Employee performance fundamentally depend on many factors like performance appraisals, compensation, training, job security. Berg (1970) and Raudseff (1978) identified additional factors motivating employees. These included career value, challenging and stimulating work, opportunities for responsibility and achievement, identification with company goals and objectives, recognition, and confidence and trust in self and company.
References
Islam, R. and Ismail, A.Z. (2008), "Employee motivation: a Malaysian perspective. International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 344-62.
Kovach K. A. (1987). “What motivates employees?” Workers and supervisors give different answers. Business Horizons, 30.58-65.
Berg, H. V. (1970). “Motivation and quality-principles in practice”. Training and Development Journal, 24(6), 28-31.
Raudseff, E. (1978). “Motivating and managing creative individuals”. Princeton Creative Research.
Understanding the grounds to motivate employees is crucial for managers. Motivation maybe a deciding factor for employees to decide if they would still want to work for a certain organization. Money is not only the motivation factor. Employees need to be felt that they are important for the organization so they will bring in energy, commitment and creativity into their jobs. Whether the economy is growing or shrinking, finding ways to motivate employees is always a management concern.
ReplyDeleteLike you have mentioned motivation is a goal-directed behavior. People tend to perform tasks in order to achieve a goal/reward which would satisfy their needs. I would like to add the following details as well;
ReplyDeleteWe find the following three components of motivation defined by Arnold et al (1991).
Direction – what task the person is trying to perform
Effort – how hard a person is working on the task
Persistence – how long the person keeps trying on the task
Herzberge et al (1957) has identified two types of Motivations;
Intrinsic Motivation –
These are the self-generated factors;
•Feeling the work is important
•Freedom to act
•Interesting and challenging work
•Opportunities for advancement
Extrinsic Motivation –
What is done to motivate the employees;
•Increased Pay
•Praise
•Promotion
•Disciplinary Actions
•Withholding Pay
•Criticism
Most influential theories underpinning motivation are as follows;
Instrumentality Theory – Brings forward the importance of rewards and punishments
Content Theory – Focuses on the reason behind the motivation (Needs/Satisfiers)
Process Theory – Psychological process (Motivations/Goals)
In conclusion taking all the above aspects into consideration employers should be focusing on the needs of employees and use the fulfillment of such needs as goals for motivation. This would in line uplift the individual/team and organizational level productivity and also provide the employees a great employee experience in the organization.
Reference;
Armstrong, M. (2006) Human Resource Management Practice. 10th edition. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Thank you Dasuni for the valuable inputs. What I understand is by providing the employees the best work environment the organization can easily harvest the fullest potential of the employee, it is a win-win situation for both parities.
Delete