Motivation, a panacea for HR issues

One of the most valuable assets that any business has is its people. There should be highly qualified and motivated employees, so that the business can shape its future, making it more profitable and competitive. 

The truth is that people work to live. If they could live sans working hard, they never work. It means that there is always something that really motivates employees to work hard. 

That is why, they are working so hard. Consequently, it is very important for managers, especially CEOs to have a motivation strategy to create and maintain the spirit of enthusiasm among employees. One of the most important challenges that lies before the manager, is how to motivate employees in the best possible way. Employees are motivated to work, only if their expectations are met at work. As a result, managers are compelled to draft a motivation plan that benefits both employees and business. 

HR-linked
Many issues which organizations face, are connected with their human resource. Hence, without solving problems faced by internal employees, no organization can move forward in this competitive market. It is the motivated employee who can take the business forward, by making customers satisfied with goods and services.

To begin with, employees should be partners of the business, especially success of the business, as motivation of people is directly based on what employees can gain from the business.

Team leaders ought to share the organizational vision with employees based on the organizational hierarchy, so that employees can have an idea where to go and what to do for achieving business goals. What is more important is that managers should be able to convince employees that they also have a major role to play in bringing the glory to the business in the competitive business environment. What needs to be done for all these things is to properly communicate with people in the business. If not, you are unable to identify ideas and attitudes that employees hold.  One of the greatest needs of each person is the need of being appreciated. Large ceremonies that require much money are not essential to appreciate people. It is of the essence to pen down that privileges must be provided based on performance alone. However, the biggest mistake that can be always seen not only in Sri Lanka but also in all Asian countries, is that perks and privileges are given based on nepotism and sexism which undoubtedly pave the way for demotivation among hard working employees. 

Specially, this will lead to presenteeism. Presenteeism is a newly coined word to the business world. It means that although employees are present at the office, but not working, because they think high performance will not result in promotions in their business entities. This can always be seen in state sector. This is costly and disadvantageous for business institutes, as salaries are paid on time, although employees are not working.  

People can’t grow if they are constantly doing what they have always done. Hence, different and more challenging tasks have to be given to employees grounded on their knowledge and skills. What can be seen in many business entities is that top level managers are reluctant to share their works with juniors. 

These managers are doing all the works alone with the ulterior motive of exaggerating their performance and claiming the entire credit. This results in a high turnover of staff and dissatisfaction. The challenges that are given to person, should be reachable and in the frames of the person’s interests. If not, it will undoubtedly lead to pessimistic attitudes among employees. At the same time, proper programmes must be designed, in order that employees’ performance can be improved. People ought to be armed with necessary skills, before they are provided with challenges. 

Freedom to resolve issues
Seniors must let juniors resolve issues in their own way, as everyone has a unique way to deal with problems. One of the factors that result in demotivation is that juniors have no conducive environment where their creative ideas can be put into practice. The organization should be a platform where innovative ideas can be put into action. Working environment is more important to employees, probably than money. It can be seen that some employees are working with low wages in some business organizations, particularly, due to good working environment. If working place is nice to work, it will energize and motivate employees to work more efficiently, resulting in higher profitability in the business. 

What seniors should understand is that juniors or employees are not machines that can be operated for twenty four hours. Actually, there are no even machines that can be operated all the day.

Therefore, it should be compulsory for all the employees to take their meal on time. This can create positive attitudes towards business. Some researchers have proved that putting a picture of kids or family on their desk can energize some workers. What has to be noted here is that motivation is an art that makes your business more profitable. What business community has to keep in mind is that personal growth and business growth should go simultaneously. 

(Amila Muthukutti is a business executive qualified in economics, finance and HRM. He is employed by a leading company in Sri Lanka and can be reached at [email protected])