A Report on Employee Motivation

Introduction 

Examining organizations that often perform outstandingly well in their fields of operation, employee productivity is one of the aspects that play a significant role towards this success and organizational growth. As much as business and company owners are essential in commerce, employees are also crucial, and they are the ones that determine the success and failure of an organization. Therefore, understanding the significant ways of facilitating improved staff productivity is essential. This study will thus focus on employee enthusiasm, how to achieve it and the current perspectives that organizations have towards this issue.

Problem Statement 

Discussions on how to motivate employees towards working hard in their tasks and duties have come up since organizations usually experience high worker turnover rates and also poor performances. It is for this reason that taking the initiative to establish the best ways to curb this challenge is necessary. This study will, therefore, hold a substantial position for future referencing of the discussion topic since it concentrates on offering sufficient information regarding employee motivation. Discussing staff drive, common methods applied by organizations and future recommendations will be the center section. The study case will be the Gideon’s Automobile Company that deals in the manufacture, production, sale, and repair of all types of automobiles.

Methods of Data Collection 

Primary 

The observation method was the leading primary source of data employed in this research. I visited Gideon’s Automobile Company Limited in my hometown and presented myself as a student doing my project coursework for one week in the field of the automobile industry to find full access to the firm’s working sections. I placed my observation on the employee section, the relationships between the leadership team and the employees, operating environment for the staff members, facilities and working systems available and also the involvement of workers in the general company operations. Through this experience, learning that organizations understand the need for employee motivation was achieved, but realizing that more has to be done to emphasize on the essence of this matter was also inevitable.

Interviewing was also a significant approach applied in this research and its contribution to this study was outstanding. While still at Gideon’s Automobile Company, I used the opportunity to come up with extensive questionnaires to find out employee incentive status in the company. The questionnaires aimed at interviewing employees from various departments in the organization and also the human resource management team. Moreover, questioning the head of departments was also essential since they also impact staff performance substantially.

Secondary 

Apart from the above methods of data collection, reviewing past literature on employee motivation also contributed significantly to the study. I took the initiative to search the internet sources on various topics discussing staff motivation, best strategies to use and even the possible recommendations that can be applied in the future to motivate employees into working hard in their duty sections. Furthermore, according to Yam, Lo, & Tang, (2011) ,reviewing internet sources is useful and in this case reviewing books associated with improving employee performance was also a beneficial technique to use since through the process, it is easy to understand literary views by researchers concerning this topic hence contributing significantly to this particular study.

Developing Employee Freedom and Rights Policy 

From the data collection exercise, numerous aspects regarding employee motivation were evident. Firstly, organizations have understood the need to develop staff enthusiasm strategies to minimize underperformance rates, unnecessary strikes, boycotts and also high employee turnover rates as discussed by King & McDonnell, (2012). For instance in Gideon’s Automobile Company, the managerial team has established policies and regulations that portray worker’s rights, responsibilities, and duties. The rights help workers to develop a sense of belonging and it is an indication that the company values their presence in the working stations. Besides, the company has employee protection policies and regulations further supporting the fact that current organizations have embraced the need to have a well-organized framework that appreciates workers.

Rewarding Outstanding Workers 

Awarding workers is among the most significant methods that are often used in motivating employees to work harder. In cases where a specific staff member has shown progressive and improved productivity, awarding them with either additional pay in their salaries, organizing congratulation parties for them or even offering them unique gifts is helpful. For example, while in Gideon’s Automobile Company, a weekly performance report had been presented and employees that had shown improved performance in that week were being awarded noteworthy trophies and a pair of shoes each. The organization has a policy that requires all departments to present performance reports weekly, and the best employees are often awarded. Through these congratulatory features as written by Prousaka & Rexhepi, (2016), one feels appreciated, valued and essential to the organization hence aspires to work harder to experience complimentary moments more frequently. Consequently, by instilling this feeling among workers, they become motivated and want to work harder.

Offering Promotions 

Offering work promotions where deserved is also another crucial technique used in motivating employees, and it is a productive one in the long run. For example from the interviews, three out four individuals in various departments in Gideon’s Automobile Company confirmed that they have been working in the company for over three years and in that time span, they had received at least one promotion from their previous job positions. The company has a total of 300 employees and thirty departments. Therefore, each unit has a maximum number of ten workers hence 75% of them confirmed that the organization believes in promotions as a way of motivating employees. However, 25% of them affirmed that they had not been promoted in any way since they become workers in the organization but with more profound research, many of them had not worked in the team for long compared to the rest.

Many at times, staff members become demoralized and underperform in their tasks when they feel unappreciated and undervalued in their job positions as (Osabiya, 2015) discusses especially when they have been performing outstandingly well for so long. To avoid experiencing such employee challenges, promotions have been embraced so that cases of an individual’s continuously working at the same job level and section are minimized as they influence poor performance. Moreover, alternating duties for persons working in the same departments are also beneficial as promotions. The approach has been adopted by Gideon’s Automobile Company since it gives individuals an opportunity to expand their working knowledge, skills, and abilities in their departments, an initiative that helps them understand they are vital in the organization. With these strategies in place, a business is bound to achieve improved employee productivity and desire to complete their work objectives since they are motivated.

Training, Coaching and Mentorship Programs 

Organizing training and mentorship sessions also facilitates employee motivation further enhancing their ability to work harder and achieve maximum profitability. According to Dhar, (2015) most individuals desire to work in organizations that allow them to grow professionally and improve their skills and abilities. For instance in Gideon’s Automobile Company, I interviewed two employees from every department in the company, and 90% of them confirmed that since they came to the organization, their skills and abilities have improved significantly due to training, coaching and mentoring sessions. They also admitted that the organization values training substantially and it has helped them work hard in their duties since they feel motivated as the actions show them that the organizations cares and values them.

However, 10% of the workers interviewed confirmed that training sessions were not frequently and uniformly held in all departments. Evidently, they were not happy with this situation, and the probability that their performances would deteriorate were high. For the departmental heads, 25 out of the thirty departments confirmed that the institute often held training sessions after every three months, and each of the employees has a mentor. On the other hand, five heads of authorities confirmed that their departments rarely received training opportunities; they only had mentors for each of their staff members. They further expressed their unsatisfactory in their division since employees’ professional growth was being limited. The human resource management team though confirmed that the company had training opportunities for all its departments, it is only that some of the head of units had not taken an initiative to present official training proposals for their agencies. Generally, training has motivated employees in Gideon’s Automobile Company substantially.

Recommendations

Emphasizing on Credible Promotions

From this study, it is evident that employee motivation plays a significant role in the success of a firm. Regarding Gideon’s Automobile Company, the business has embraced several strategies towards achieving the objective in question. However, as from the findings, some of the responses need to be addressed. For example in the promotions section, 25% of the workers confirmed that they had not been promoted. For future reference, it is necessary for companies to offer deserved, credible and fair promotions based on credits earned, skills and abilities one possesses and their outstanding characteristics, instead of focusing on how long one has worked in a particular company before offering them promotions.

Uniform Training

Additionally, in the training section, uneven training opportunities were noted. It is thus necessary for organizations to take an initiative of examining whether all departments are receiving the same training opportunities and privileges. Moreover, heads of departments should ensure that in cases where other segments receive a specific professional chance regularly without their offices receiving the same, they should make follow-ups to avoid lagging behind not only themselves but the department as a whole.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, employee motivation is a significant matter to all persons that own organizations and business enterprises. Understanding that workers influence the final performance of a firm is essential as it gives organizational management teams a reason to ensure their staff members are motivated and well cared for in their daily operations. This discussion has reflected that the contemporary organizations have developed various techniques for motivating their employees, resultantly achieving high productivity by working hard in their responsibilities. However, with shortcomings such as the ones noted at Gideon’s Automobile Company, it is a challenge for firms to meet employee motivation objective. It is therefore vital for the proposed recommendations to be applied to minimize the possible chances of undermining the success of employee motivation processes.

References 

Dhar, R. (2015). Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Tourism Management , 419-430.

King, B., & McDonnell, M. (2012). Good firms, good targets: The relationship between corporate social responsibility, reputation, and activist targeting. 

Osabiya, B. (2015). The effect of employees motivation on organizational performance. Journal of public administration and policy research , 62-75.

Prousaka, R., & Rexhepi, Y. (2016). Rewarding employees in turbulent economies for improved organisational performance: Exploring SMEs in the South-Eastern European region. Personnel Review , 1259-1280.

Yam, R., Lo, W., & Tang, E. (2011). Analysis of sources of innovation, technological innovation capabilities, and performance: An empirical study of Hong Kong manufacturing industries. Research policy , 391-402.