Motivation Plan
There is a close relationship between employee motivation and productivity. Companies that are market leaders in their respective industries strive to ensure that their employees are highly motivated. This leads to high job satisfaction, low employee turnover, and high productivity.
An employee motivation plan is a major tool that enables an organization to improve the motivation of its employees. The motivation plan of the company that manufactures ‘WooWoo’ would offer rewards to many employees of the company. This would increase the job satisfaction of the employees. This would lead to low employee turnover. Research shows that it is better to have many motivated winners than many demotivated losers. The company would also offer an award for the employee of the month and the most improved employee.
The most improved employee award would encourage employees to continuously strive to improve the quality of their work. On the other hand, the employee of the month award would recognize the employee who has offered exemplary services during the month. These strategies would ensure the employee provides high-quality work. This would reduce the number of defective items that the company produces.
The motivation plan would encourage the sustained effort of the employees. Employees will start each month afresh. The company would wipe out the minuses and plusses of the employees each month.
This would guard the organization against the demotivation of employees who feel they are left far behind by their colleagues. This strategy would help in maintaining the high productivity of the employees (Bauer & Erdogan, 2009). The organization would present awards frequently. There would be monthly, quarterly, and annual awards to employees who have exemplary performance.
Motivating all Employees
Creating a friendly work environment and recognizing and rewarding employees are the major methods of motivating the employees of the organization. It is a fact that employees usually spend a sizeable proportion of their time in the workplace (Messmer, 2011). Therefore, creating a friendly work environment would improve the productivity of the employees.
The company would use several methods to create a friendly work environment. The company would use lighting to ensure that the office has a pleasant setting. Also, the company would ensure that it maintains a suitable temperature in the office or assembly plants.
Recognizing and rewarding employees are one of the most efficient methods of employee motivation. The management of the company would ensure that it recognizes employees who have outstanding performance on an individual basis. The managers would write e-mails, letters, or talk face to face with the employees. Groups perform certain tasks within the company. Therefore, the company would also recognize employees as a group.
The management would desist from giving negative feedback to the employees. Instead, it would highlight various challenges and how the groups should solve the challenges. The company would also reward employees regularly. The rewards may be in the form of a pay rise, small gifts, or time off (Bauer & Erdogan, 2009). The rewards would strive to meet the specific needs of the employees.
Motivating Minimum Wage Employees
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one of the oldest theories that managers use to motivate their employees. The theory stipulates that individuals strive to satisfy five types of basic needs. People usually strive to satisfy needs in the lower levels. After satisfying these needs, individuals strive to satisfy the needs of higher levels until they satisfy the needs in all levels (Bauer & Erdogan, 2009). Individuals usually strive to satisfy the psychological needs first.
Psychological needs include the basic needs for survival. These include stable employment and a good income. Security needs are the second level of needs in theory. ‘Belongingness’ is the third level of needs in theory. ‘Belongingness’ needs include issues on social acceptance. Esteem needs are the fourth level of needs in theory. Recognition is one of the major needs in this category. The fifth level of needs is self-actualization. In self-actualization an individual strives to exploit their full potential (Messmer, 2011).
The company would use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory to motivate minimum wage employees. The company would facilitate the participation of the minimum wage employees in the decision-making process. Minimum wage employees perform the actual work in the company.
Therefore, they may have insights on how to improve certain processes. Participation of employees in the decision-making process would motivate the employees. It would make employees feel that they are a vital part of the company (DuBrin, 2008). This would fulfill their feeling of ‘belongingness.’
The company would guide minimum wage employees towards a career. Most minimum wage employees are usually fresh high school or college graduates. Guiding them would enable the company to harness their skills and capabilities. Guiding the minimum wage employees towards a career would motivate them. It would encourage them to reach their full potential. Therefore, it would fulfill their need for self-actualization.
The company would also mentor minimum wage employees. Mentoring enables the minimum wage employees to learn from their colleagues. It would enable the minimum wage employees to learn and retain various skills faster. Mentoring would fulfill the safety needs of minimum wage employees (DuBrin, 2008). This would motivate the employees.
Individual Employee in Contemporary Organisational Context
Balancing work and family issues are one of the major issues that most employees face. It is vital for organizations to ensure that family issues do not act as an impediment to the productivity of an employee. There has been a significant increase in the proportion of women in the workplace. Women have special needs that the organization should tackle. Also, advances in technology have provided tools that enable employees to work in remote locations (Bauer & Erdogan, 2009).
Therefore, most organizations have formulated strategies that strive to accommodate the needs of the employees. Advances in technology have also led to the introduction of machines and other technological tools that perform work that was traditionally done by employees. Machines are generally more efficient than people. They reduce the occurrence of human errors. Also, the use of machines and technological tools enables an organization to reduce the costs of production (DuBrin, 2008).
Individual Work to Teamwork Chart
References
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge, L.L.C.
DuBrin, A. J. (2008). Essentials of Management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Messmer, M. (2011). Motivating Employees for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.