Understanding employee motivation is necessary to the success of a company. By knowing what encourages an employee to do his or her job, a company will be able to implement different policies to increase the performance of the workers.
Another importance to understanding employee motivation has something to do with job satisfaction. Despite the many people who are unemployed today, it is still very hard to find a new employee. You will need to spend time and money on trainings. You will have to deal with getting used to another employee. You will need to conduct background checks. These are just some of the reasons why most companies today try to ensure job satisfaction.
By being able to understand employee motivation, an employer will be able to ensure that his or her workers will be able to focus on the goals of the company and ensure that the employees will not quit on them.
In order to understand employee motivation, one must realize that people are different. This means that different things motivate different employees.
1) Achievement –
One type of employee motivation is achievement. In this type of employee motivation, the worker is driven by the goal itself. This in a sense is like climbing a mountain because the mountain is there.
Employers often make use of this by presenting challenges to the employees.
In making use of this type of employee motivation employers often include incentives such as a promotion or cash. However, for the employees, the incentive is only a bonus to the achievement.
2) Advancement –
For some employees, their motivation is the prospect of rising up in the ranks of the corporation. They work hard in order to catch the eye of the boss and probably get a promotion. This type of employee motivation is characterized by ambition.
Of course, there are times when this type of employee motivation can be dangerous. Sometimes, superiors may find their jobs in danger because of an advancement-motivated employee. However, if handled properly, an employee whose motivation is advancement can be the best in the business. As such, this type of employee motivation should be handled carefully.
3) Pressure –
Some employees work harder under pressure. This employee motivation is rarely manifested consciously in a worker. It is often the case that an employee unknowingly piles pressure on him or her and this pressure pushes them to work harder.
Sometimes, pressure is used by and employee to see just how far he or she would be able to go. However, this type of employee motivation can have some very negative results, considering the fact that every person has a limit. In fact, it often ends up in a breakdown of some sort.
4) Fear –
This is one of the most commonly used employee motivation techniques. Employees are often threatened with termination if they fail to meet certain objectives. Of course, if an employee does not handle pressure very well, this type of employee motivation technique could be detrimental to his or her work performance.
The key to the best employee motivation technique is balance. You need to understand that people have different preferences. Since it is virtually impossible to meet every employee’s motivation needs, you must develop a technique that incorporates all of the elements of employee motivation. In doing so, you will be able to ensure your company’s continued growth.