Introduction
Human resources represent a valuable asset for a company in any competitive industry. According to Kehoe and Wright (2013), a company’s employees’ are the drivers of its strategies towards attain the company’s vision and mission. Accordingly, employees have a direct influence as to whether the company thrives or does not. The recent merger between M&C Ltd. Co. and StarySky Ltd. Co has promises to take the company to higher levels of productivity, profitability, and growth. Moreover, the company’s mission continues to be the market leader through providing cutting-edge, innovative products and services, which requires the input of a robust sales department. The merger, however, has brought with it some challenges that need to be addressed. Notably, the employee motivation at the sales department is at an all-time low and an the implementation of a rewards and recognition program holds the promise to reverse the occurrence.
Description of the Problem
The merger that occurred between M&C Ltd. Co. and StarySky Ltd. Co. was a move that looked poised to transform the way the company operates. Notably, the decision by the management of the two companies to join and do business collectively was informed by a well-thought process founded on proper market analysis. The merger promises to revolutionize the process through which the two companies operated in a bid to increase the profitability and return on investment for the company shareholders. Moreover, streamlining the operations of the two companies would benefit the customers and other external shareholders as the capacity of operation for the company will be exponentially increased (Mirela, 2012). In essence, more infrastructures, capital, as well as human resources would be at the disposal of the M&C-StarySky union, which if properly exploited would see the company soar to greater heights of profitability and growth.
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The merger between the two companies has brought with it some challenges that need to be effectively addressed if the intended objectives of the merger are to be met. Case in point, the number of the company’s employees has been exponentially increased necessitating better employee management. Moreover, as communicated to the employees during the official communication of the merge about 3 months ago, the company has set high target for departments which translate to high targets for both individual and groups of employees. However, since the merger occurred there has been noticeable demotivation of workers more so in the sales department. The demotivation has been expressed in various forms ranging from change in attitude and behavior in the place, higher rates of absenteeism and lateness for work and meetings, and reduced productivity. The risk of having a pool of employees with low morale is that their level of engagement is reduced which translates to low output per unit person, low profitability, and poor customer experience (Lazaroiu, 2015). Given the high talent pool that the company has acquired over the years of operation, there needs to be a systems change in order to boost the motivation of the employees.
Recommendation
Motivation of employees is an important determinant for the growth and productivity of any company. According to Dobre (2013), for motivated employees in addition to being more engaged in the operations of the organization, motivation makes employees to better handle uncertainties, solve problems more effectively, become more innovative, creative and initiative takers. Additionally, the employees exhibit customer-centricity; are more profitable; create higher levels of customer satisfaction; and increase employee retention rates. The aforementioned benefits promise to move the newly merged company to higher level of productivity and customer experience. Moreover, given the intense competition within the industry in which the M&C-StarySky operates and the great talent pool currently at the company, it is requisite that an effective motivation strategy be put in place not only to improve employee retention and customer satisfaction.
A reward and recognition program is an approach that the company should consider implementing in order to boost the level of employee motivation. According to Fisher (2015), a employees’ rewards and recognitions program bring positive changes to organizations through improved employee motivation, improved performance, a feeling of being valued at the workplace, improved teamwork and cooperation, and reinforcing organizational values and culture. The sales department of the company therefore is one that can be revolutionized through the use of a rewards and recognition program. It suffices to underpin that the rewards program could take many forms including variable pay, bonuses, profit sharing, and stock allotment. Similarly, the recognition programs that have been shown to be effective include formal programs such as dinners, breakfasts, featuring the employees’ accomplishments in the organization’s newsletter, and scheduled performer recognitions. Moreover, informal recognition programs such as working from home and shorter shifts have also shown to be effective in improving employee motivation. According Capobianco (2014), studies have proven effectiveness of reward and recognition program in translating to better employee motivation and more productivity at the workplace. The sales department, therefore, looks poised to benefit from the implementation of such a program and the implementation of the same is highly recommended.
Expected Outcomes
The sales department of the company is an important player in the achievement of the company’s objective. This is more so because it is the main point of contact between the company and its valuable customers. The motivation of the employees in the department, therefore, needs to be top-notch. The implementation of the rewards and recognition program in the department will consequently lead to motivation of the employees and will be reflected in a number of outcomes. The engagement of employees is expected to improve upon implementation of the rewards and recognition program (Dobre, 2013). More importantly, the productivity of the employees in the department will be improved by the implementation of the program. This translates into a higher output per unit-time from each employee. What this means from a sales department point of view is exponential rise in sales and ultimate growth of the company’s profitability (Lazaroiu, 2015). Better employee retention and reduction in the rate of employee turnover is yet another expected outcome upon implementation of the program (Capobianco, 2014). This will benefit the company through better work continuity and lowering of the costs incurred for the recruitment and training of new employees that would be needed. Implementation of the program will also lead to better customer service, in line with the company’s values of customer centricity. This will be evaluated based on the number of repeat sales, and the communication feedback obtained from the customers. A better customer experience will result to more sales given that a satisfied customer is one of the best marketing tools for any company. The aforementioned outcomes are evidence that the implementation of a rewards and recognition program will benefit the company, the employees and the customers as well, which highly necessitates its implementation.
Conclusion
The demotivation of employees at the M&C-StarySky sales department will hinder the actualization of the objectives of the merger. Currently, the motivation of the employees at the department is at remarkably low levels as reflected in the increased rates of absenteeism, poor attitude at work and low productivity. Implementation of a rewards and recognition program holds the promise of improving the motivation of the employees, the result of which would benefit the company, the employee and the company’s customers as well. The positive outcome of implementation of such a proper as assessed through a change in employee engagement, reduced absenteeism and employee turnover, high level productivity per employee and the level customer satisfaction makes a point why the top management should consider implementation of the program.
References
Capobianco, E. (2014) Rewards and recognition: two highly effective ways to motivate your employees The Next Web Retrieved from https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/10/09/recognizing-your-employees/
Dobre, O. I. (2013). Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research , 5(1).
Fisher, J. G. (2015). Strategic Reward and Recognition : Improving Employee Performance through Non-monetary Incentives . Philadelphia: Kogan Page
Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of management , 39(2), 366-391.
Lazaroiu, G. (2015). Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, 97.
Mirela, B. C. (2012). Merger Strategies of Economic Entities: Fiscal and Accounting Consequences. Ovidius University Annals Economic Sciences Series, 987.
