As we have addressed so far in this chapter, human motivation is an important aspect to understanding what makes us happy or unhappy at our jobs. Companies implement many strategies to keep us motivated at work. This section will discuss some of those specific strategies.
As we know from our earlier section, our paycheck can be a motivator to a certain extent. It is important to note that when we look at compensation, it is much more than only pay but things such as health benefits and paid time off.
Some of the considerations companies use surrounding pay can include the following:
To meet our higher-level needs, we need to experience self-growth. As a result, many companies and managers offer training programs within the organization and pay for employees to attend career skill seminars and programs. It is a great idea to take advantage of these types of self-growth opportunities in your current or future organization. In addition, many companies offer tuition reimbursement programs to help you earn a degree. Dick’s Drive-In, a local fast food restaurant in Seattle, Washington, offers $18,000 in scholarships over four years to employees working twenty hours per week. There is a six-month waiting period, and the employee must continue to work twenty hours per week. In a high turnover industry, Dick’s Drive-In boasts one of the highest employee retention rates around.
The performance appraisalA method by which job performance is measured. is a formalized process to assess how well an employee does his or her job. The effectiveness of this process can contribute to employee retention, in that we can gain constructive feedback on our job performance, and it can be an opportunity for the manager to work with the us to set goals within the organization. This process can help ensure our upper-level self-actualization needs are met, but it also can address some of the motivational factors discussed by Herzberg, such as achievement, recognition, and responsibility.
Succession planningA process for identifying and developing internal people who have the potential to fill positions. is a process of identifying and developing internal people who have the potential for filling positions. As we know, many people leave organizations because they do not see career growth or potential. Companies can combat this by having a clear career path for us to follow. For example, perhaps you start as a sales associate, become assistant manager, and then become manager. Proper succession planning shows what we must accomplish at each level in order to attain a higher-level position. This type of clear career path can help with our motivation at work. If your current or future organization does not have a succession plan, consider speaking with your manager about your own career path and potential. The performance appraisal process might be a good time to have this discussion.
This video addresses some “real world” retention strategies used at Michels Corporation, a utility contractor services company.
According to a Salary.com survey, the ability to work from home and flexible work schedules are benefits that would entice us to stay in our job.“Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey, 2007/2008,” Salary.com, 2008, accessed February 26, 2011, http://www.salary.com/docs/resources/JobSatSurvey_08.pdf. The ability to implement this type of retention strategy might be difficult, depending on the type of business. For example, a retailer may not be able to implement this, since the sales associate must be in the store to assist customers. However, for many professions, it is a viable option, worth including in the retention plan and part of work-life balance.
Some companies, such as Recreational Equipment Incorporated, based in Seattle, offer twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year (beyond the twelve weeks required under the Family and Medical Leave Act) for the employee to pursue volunteering or traveling opportunities. In addition, with fifteen years of service with the company, paid sabbaticals are offered, which include four weeks plus already earned vacation time.
In a recent Gallup poll of one million workers, a poor supervisor or manager is the number one reason why people leave their jobs.“No. 1 Reason People Quit Their Jobs,” AOL News, Netscape, accessed July 28, 2011, http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/whatsnew/package.jsp?name=fte/quitjobs/quitjobs&floc=wn-dx. Managers who bully, use the theory X approach, communicate poorly, or are incompetent may find it difficult to motivate employees to stay within the organization. While, as employees, we cannot control a manager’s behavior, companies can provide training to create better management. Training of managers to be better communicators and motivators is a way to handle this retention issue.
Perceptions on fairness and how organizations handle conflict can be a contributing factor to our motivation at work. Outcome fairnessThe judgment that people make with respect to the outcomes they receive versus the outcomes received by others with whom they associate. refers to the judgment that we make with respect to the outcomes we receive versus the outcomes received by others with whom we associate with. When we are deciding if something is fair, we will likely look at procedural justiceThe process used to determine the outcomes received., or the process used to determine the outcomes received. There are six main areas we use to determine the outcome fairness of a conflict:
For example, let’s suppose JoAnn just received a bonus and recognition at the company party for her contributions to an important company project. However, you might compare your inputs and outputs and determine it was unfair that JoAnn was recognized because you had worked on bigger projects and not received the same recognition or bonus. As you know from the last section, this type of unfairness can result in being unmotivated at work. Excellent communication with your manager when dealing with these types of situations would be imperative.
As we have discussed previously, one of the reasons for job dissatisfaction is the job itself. Ensuring our skills set and what we enjoy doing matches with the job is important. Some companies will use a change in job design, enlarge the job or empower employees to motivate them.
Job enrichmentAdding more meaningful tasks to enhance a job and make the employee’s work more rewarding. means to enhance a job by adding more meaningful tasks to make our work more rewarding. For example, if we as retail salespersons are good at creating eye-catching displays, allowing us to practice these skills and assignment of tasks around this could be considered job enrichment. Job enrichment can fulfill our higher level of human needs while creating job satisfaction at the same time. In fact, research in this area by Richard Hackman and Greg OldhamRobert N. Ford, Motivation through the Work Itself (New York: American Management Association, 1969); William J. Paul, Keith B. Robertson, and Frederick Herzberg, “Job Enrichment Pays Off,” Harvard Business Review, March–April 1969, 61–78. found that we, as employees, need the following to achieve job satisfaction:
In addition, job enlargementAdding new challenges or responsibilities to a current job., defined as the adding of new challenges or responsibilities to a current job, can create job satisfaction. Assigning us to a special project or task is an example of job enlargement.
Employee empowermentA way to involve employees in their work by allowing them to make decisions and act upon those decisions, with the support of the organization. involves management allowing us to make decisions and act upon those decisions, with the support of the organization. When we are not micromanaged and have the power to determine the sequence of our own work day, we tend to be more satisfied than those employees who are not empowered. Empowerment can include the following:
Some organizations have a pay-for-performance strategy, which means that we are rewarded for meeting preset objectives within the organization. For example, in a merit-based pay system, we might be rewarded for meeting or exceeding performance during a given time period. Rather than a set pay increase every year, the increase is based on performance. Some organizations offer bonuses to employees for meeting objectives, while some organizations offer team incentive pay if a team achieves a specific, predetermined outcome. For example, each player on the winning team of the 2010 NFL Super Bowl earned a team bonus of $83,000,Darren Rovell, “How Much Do Players Get Paid for Winning the Super Bowl?” CNBC Sports, January 18, 2011, accessed July 29, 2011, http://www.cnbc.com/id/41138354/How_Much_Do_Players_Get_Paid_For_Winning_the_Super_Bowl. while the losing team of the Super Bowl took home $42,000. Players also earn money for each wild card game and playoff game. Some organizations also offer profit sharing, which is tied to a company’s overall performance. Gain sharing, different from profit sharing, focuses on improvement of productivity within the organization. For example, the city of Loveland in Colorado implemented a gain-sharing program that defined three criteria that needed to be met for employees to be given extra compensation. The city revenues had to exceed expenses, expenses had to be equal to or less than the previous year’s expenses, and a citizen satisfaction survey had to meet minimum requirements.
As we have already addressed, pay isn’t everything, but it certainly can be an important part of feeling motivated in our jobs.
David Swinford, CEO of Pearl Meyer & Partners, discusses executive pay for performance.
According to Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,”“100 Best Companies to Work For,” CNN Money, 2011, accessed February 26, 2011, http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/companies/1101/gallery.bestcompanies_unusual_perks.fortune/5.html. things that companies do to motivate us may be more unusual. For example, the list includes the following:
While some of these options may not be options in the companies we work for, the important thing to remember is often our own motivation comes from us internally. As a result, we need to be aware of our changing motivations and ask for those things that could make us more motivated at work.
