Motivation Basics
University of La Verne
Motivating other, in particular employees who work for you, is often the most difficult thing as a manager you will need to do. There are many myths and thoughts as to what may motivate employees. Does money motivate? Does recognition motivate? What about fear? Is someone motivated by something just because maybe you are? The answer to all these may vary depending on the employee.
First I will dispel some myths about motivation. The first myth is that a manager entirely motivates an employee. This is absolutely false. One can be influenced or steered in a certain direction but the employee essentially has to have some inner motivation and take action themselves. Therefore some aspect of self motivation needs to rest inside the individual you are seeking to motivate. As manager it is your job to find out what it is that motivates that employee and provide that atmosphere or environment for that individual. Another myth is that money motivates and employee. Money is definitely something that is desired by all. However money essentially just keeps employees from getting less motivated. Fear is also not a good motivator. Fear may get you what you want temporarily but it does not drive an employee to be motivated.
So what does motivate employees? I have been to many seminars on motivation, some good ones and some bad ones. Most of the good ones I attended focused on the primary key to motivation starting with the manager and their attitude. You as a manager are the key to displaying an enthusiasm along with your great job knowledge which in turns motivates employees. Enthusiasm is contagious. I truly believe this. Have you ever seen an enthusiastic manager ...
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...ive incentive. For the first quarter of perfect attendance the employee receives a gift card for $25 to their choice of 1 of 5 different stores. For the second consecutive quarter they $50 dollars toward the stores. The third results in $125 dollars. And finally for the fourth quarter and perfect attendance they will receive $250 toward one of the stores of their choice. That is a total of $450 for the year. The year before we implemented this program our perfect attendance was less than 5%.
Motivation is an extremely difficult aspect of being a manager. You need to be able to motivate employees if you wish to succeed as a manager. There are many myths as to what motivates employees. Be wary of these myths and focus on the many proven factors which motivate employees such as an enthusiastic manager, responsibilities and buy in, and rewards and incentives.
The motivation of employees is the key crucial element in any organization. Employers should be able to implement all the strategies for motivation to increase the worker's performance. Motivation has got a lot of influences in performance levels and productivity in any organization. The example of motivation ways is through rewards, promotion, job recognition and others. The key factors to motivation also can include useful communication, supervision, career progression, interpersonal relations, recognition, money and also control. These factors influence the healthy performance behaviors of employees.
There are many methods to promote and expand employee motivation. The main goal to motivating your employees is to know them enough where as a leader you will know what motivates them, and as a result, you will create a motivation program based on those needs. I believe that employee satisfaction is the key to a successful workforce, and it will definitely help pay for itself.
Many business managers today are not aware to the response that motivation can have on their business. The size of the business is not a factor when considering motivation: whether you’re trying to get full potential from one hundred or an individual everyone is in need of some form of motivation. It is something that is tackled differently by different organisations and the reasonability of its integration lies with all the supervisors of staff. However, it is the owner who must introduce motivation as a way to attain the businesses goals. It is key to understand the various tactics that managers and supervisors will use to motivate there working staff also why it’s important to initiate extrinsic and intrinsic motivation into the work place. “There is only one way…to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it” Dale Carnegie.
The statement: “It is not possible to actually “motivate” another person; the best we can do is create the circumstances under which the person can become self-motivated,” is one that brings much truth to the idea of motivation. Motivation in and of itself cannot, and should not be perceived as a tangible entity. One cannot give another individual “motivation” like one would present a gift. Managers can create situations that produce motivation, but they cannot actually give motivation itself. There are methods that they can implement to promote this feeling of motivation, therefore allowing employees to be self-motivated.
Motivation is the key determinant which guides an employee’s needs, wants, hopes and expectations. It can be subtly inferred by observing employees behavior and gauging whether he is motivated enough to fulfill the greater goals of the organization. There are various methods through which an organization can empower their employees and cause them to work in a beneficial way. A motivated employee proves to be a boon for the company as he turns out to be highly dependent, loyal and productive which is crucial for the overall growth of the company. He in turn is able to realize his true potential and be clear about his career path.
It is a known fact that our society and our workforce continues to change, however the same question of increasing worker productivity continues to be asked by organizations and managers alike. That is one reason why the topic of motivation is so prevalent and importance continues to increase in management research. It is believed that if organizations or managers can find the key to motivate individuals, then the company will be able to increase productivity, therefore increasing their bottom line.
Motivation factors can be growth, achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement. Growth and advancement are important for an employee because they would not want to stay in the same position, doing the same tasks for the rest of their lives. This is also because they want to be recognized for their efforts and time spent for the company's well-being. To an employee, being given responsibilities, means that they are trusted and tells them that they are important to and valued by the company. As for the work itself, this actually means that the employee hired should enjoy their job, have a strong passion and enthusiasm for what they do. This also means that they have to love what they do and have interest in it so that they're motivated to do better in the
The concerns that managers have regarding the subject of motivation and how to get the most effort from their employees are valid concerns because. The reality of today’s economy have many people living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes working two and three jobs just to make ends meet. Although many people are grateful to have jobs, they feel that they are living in times of uncertainty and worry everyday if they will have jobs tomorrow. The stress of dealing with the rising cost of everything not only makes motivation more challenging, it has caused people to be more anxious and distrustful. Trying to keep employees motivated in these times of uncertainty is indeed a big concern.
Motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximizing employee’s motivation is a necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organization’s targets and objectives. However, this is a considerable challenge to any organizations managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that, there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins,2002).
It is important for manager to understand that what motivates the individuals. There are different kinds of motivation theories which reveal that individuals are motivated by different factors. For example there is extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1993). Extrinsic motivation refers to the motivation that one has for the extrinsic rewards such as pay, status, power, etc. Then there are intrinsic motivating factors such as the chance to exercise one’s skills, the opportunity to learn and personal development. Research suggests that various factors motivate employees in a different degree depending on their nature. It would therefore be important for the manager to understand that what are the motivating factors for individual employees and then provide them incentives accordingly so that they can work in a more productive fashion. Once the individuals work with greater excitement and vigour it would automatically lead to better performance.
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Motivation is the process of getting someone to act on a particular situation. According to (Adelhardt, S, K. 2015, December 2) lack of motivation in the workplace is the most problematic subject for all managers, because it leads to decreasing productivity, performance and yet it increases the chances of employee resignation. Many employers suppose that managers these days are struggling to motivate their employees due to lack of significantly vital experience as well as knowledge in the employee engagement developing process. One of the successful strategies that managers can use to increase employee inspiration is by offering an attractive remuneration and benefits to their employees. Remuneration and benefits such as an extrinsic bonus
Motivation is therefore the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximising an employee's motivation is necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organisation's objectives and targets. However this is a considerable challenge to any organisation's managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins, 2002).
Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” Studies have found that high employee motivation goes hand in hand with strong organizational performance and profits. Therefore, managers are given the responsibility of finding the right combination of motivational techniques and rewards to satisfy employees’ needs and encourage great work performance. This becomes a bit more challenging as employees’ needs change from one generation to another. Three of the biggest challenges a manager faces in motivating employees today are the economy and threats to job security, technological advances, and company cultures that primarily focus on the bottom line.
Overall, the more an employee is motivated the higher chance managers will see happy employees, great productivity and high profits for the organization. Motivators give companies a competitive edge that ensures the survival of the company in the long run. A successful manager must always know how to expand motivators for their company to achieve company