Feeling Stuck: How Do You Motivate Employees Who Seem Disengaged with HR Activities?

Dear all seniors,

In my around four years' journey as Manager HR, the first time I have become irritated, frustrated, and confused due to my employees' strange behavior. Let me explain the whole story. Currently, I am associated with an IT software development company with a manpower strength of 70 employees, and I am the only HR personnel.

In the last week of every month, we used to arrange some event, activity, or group task along with food for employees' interest. For the past three months, I have noticed a very cold response from them. In the last two events, I had to cancel as only 5 to 7 employees out of 70 attended. I then thought of changing the concept, so this time I convinced our management for a water park trip. However, they asked me to organize the trip on a nonworking day only (e.g., Sunday). I was under the impression that in this hot summer, I would definitely get a very good response from our employees for this cool water park trip. Surprisingly, only 4 to 5 employees were ready for it. When I asked the reason for the remaining employees not participating, they said it was because it was on Sunday.

Now, I can't understand what to do. So far, I have taken many initiatives. Once, I even conducted an opinion poll for our events, asking "Does the monthly event motivate you?" All 100% of employees responded yes, but at the same time, they are not participating. I have also conducted emotional intelligence workshops, team-building workshops, etc., but now I think all of that was worthless. And now, I feel like I am losing courage and hope.

All I know is the majority of them have salary issues with the management. They have imaginary salary expectations from the management, and the management is not meeting these expectations.

Please share your experiences (if it's a general scenario) or offer me some suggestions.

Regards,

Why would I spoil my Sunday at the water park if I want to relax or have some other commitment? 🤔🤔

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Hi,

Thank you for submitting your text for review. I have corrected the spelling and grammar errors, as well as adjusted the punctuation for clarity. Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Hi,

It's quite obvious that all your efforts are not incentivizing your employees because they are low on motivation, and that too, monetary motivation. Would you like to work for a meager salary and eat in a 5-star restaurant for free? Would you like to see a movie with colleagues when you know that their salary is better than yours? Would you like to give your 100% when you know that you'll not be paid for it?

All things matter; your efforts are not going in vain, but it's the management that is not able to meet employees' expectations. You may be told to create a 'better environment' with a lesser salary. So, please talk to management, have a one-on-one session with employees. They may not want to speak out of fear of losing their jobs, but it can be sensed in the way they are losing interest in your arrangements.

You are not to be blamed, but as an HR professional, you have to break the ice; otherwise, your employer will eventually lose good people.

Regards,
Gunjan

Gentlemen,

I understand your point that the main issue is the disparity between actual salary and expected salary. Employees' reaction to your recreational activities is primarily due to the belief that if management is investing in such events, why not invest in our salaries instead.

However, most organizations in India face similar challenges because compensation management practices are very uncertain in the country. These practices are influenced by various factors:

1. Grade of city: To estimate the cost of living, for example, cities like Mumbai and Bangalore have higher costs compared to other B-grade cities.
2. Nature of Industry: IT, FMCG, BPO, Cement, Steel, Automobile, etc.
3. Size of Industry: Small Scale, Medium Scale, Large Scale, MNC, PLC, Pvt Ltd Co., etc.
4. Region: Market price of jobs in the area where the industry is located.
5. Skills Shortages: The demand and supply ratio in the market for skills determines salary levels.
6. Quality of Work Life: Management: Jobs in the contemporary work environment offer rewards, benefits, recognition, and control to employees. Employees' personal spending habits, lifestyles, leisure activities, values, and health can also influence their perceived needs. The concept of Quality of Work Life (QWL) is subjective and evolves as employees' needs change.

HR managers need to communicate these facts to employees, as many employees may underestimate their current pay scale. Employees need to continuously enhance their experience and expertise to advance in the salary scale, which takes time. Counseling and providing market survey data can help employees understand the market practices regarding salary levels and motivate them to grow and contribute to the organization.

Regards,
Badlu

Hello,

I don't think this problem is new to us 😈. It's been there in good and bad times, and we as HR professionals have to deal with it.

With the recession, this problem is at its peak. I understand it's a serious issue as pressure is high, pay/salaries are irregular, and management is ready to invest less in recreational activities. Here, as HR professionals, we are tested as we need to maintain a balance on both sides.

My personal suggestion on the problem you are facing:

As you mentioned, people have lost interest in the regular month-end events and the water park event you organized on Sunday (which is quite natural as people would like to spend weekends with their family).

Now, here your management is ready to spend at least Rs 200 on each individual (roughly, I guess that's what it costs, maybe even more, but let's stick to this), so this comes to nearly Rs 14000.

You were organizing monthly events like cake cutting and a few others, and for that, management was ready to do them during office hours. So, what you can do is motivate the employees by IP, messaging, chatting, and emailing them from the morning that today (maybe on Wednesday with less pressure) they have a chance to win Rs 5000 at 5.00 pm. Send reminders at least 2-3 times between 10 am to 5 pm and ask them to gather in a conference room or terrace, etc.

Now, you can have different games, quizzes, or whatever you like apart from their daily work and start giving them monetary prizes (either in one lump sum or in parts as you see fit). I am not saying that this will be a hit right away, but we have a budget to organize three events in two months.

Start doing this every 20 days, so in two months, you will have completed two events, and you will notice a better response at the second and third events than the first, as people will feel they can win some monetary benefit, creating enthusiasm and competition among the team.

Here, your total investment is around Rs 7500 per month for 70 employees, with let's say 40 minutes each, and the return on investment is likely to be much more, and you will regain their confidence.

You can customize this plan to suit your needs and try it for at least one quarter. I am sure it will help you out 😛, and as time goes on, you will see people start coming to these events on their own. You can also have first-come prizes, etc. (think of all new prizes you can introduce).

Please consider this and don't let that Rs 15,000 budget that you have been sanctioned go to waste 😛.

Regards,

Sourabh Deval

Hello,

I don't think this problem is new to us 😈. It's been there in good and bad times, and we as HR professionals have to deal with it.

With the recession, this problem is at its peak. I understand it's a serious issue as the pressure is high, pay/salaries are irregular, and management is willing to invest less in recreational activities. Here, as HR professionals, we are tested as we need to maintain a balance on both sides.

My personal suggestion on the problem you are facing:

As you mentioned that people have lost interest in the regular month-end events and the water park event you organized on Sunday (which is quite natural as people would like to spend a weekend with their family).

Now, here your management is ready to spend at least Rs 200 on each individual (Roughly, I guess that's what it costs, maybe even more, but let's stick to this), so this comes to nearly Rs 14,000.

You were organizing monthly events like cake cutting and a few others, and for that, management was willing to do them during office hours. So, what you can do is motivate the employees by using instant messaging, chatting, emailing them in the morning that today (maybe on Wednesday when there's less pressure) they have a chance to win Rs 5000 at 5:00 pm. Send reminders at least 2-3 times between 10 am to 5 pm and ask them to gather in a conference room or on the terrace.

Now, you can have different games, quizzes, or whatever you like, apart from their daily work, and start giving them monetary prizes (either as a lump sum or in parts as you see fit). I'm not saying that this will be a hit right away, but we have a budget to organize 3 events in 2 months.

Start doing this every 20 days, so in 2 months, you will have organized two events and you will notice a better response at the second and third events than the first, as people will feel they can win some monetary benefit and a sense of enthusiasm and competition amongst the team will increase.

Here, your total investment is around Rs 7500/month for 70 employees with, let's say, 40 minutes each, and the return on investment is much higher, and you will regain their confidence.

You can adapt this as per your needs and try it for at least one quarter. I am confident it will help you out 😛, and as time goes by, you will see that people will start attending these events on their own. You can also have first-come prizes, etc. (think of all the new prizes you can introduce).

Do consider this and don't let that Rs 15,000 budget that you have been allocated go to waste 😛.

Regards,

Sourabh Deval

Hi Rohit,

I have asked them also at the time of 'Employee satisfaction survey'. Their answer was very diplomatic; they told me that whatever the company does in the monthly event should be for the employees' interest only. Now, tell me, yar, the water park trip is for whose interest!! But still, they are not ready. Apart from that, if in your organization there are 50 employees and you ask them to suggest activities for such a monthly event, then you will receive 50 suggestions. One will say a cricket match, another will suggest a movie, the third one will ask for an outing. Now, we don't have any "Allaudin's Jadu-e chirag" that we can fulfill everyone's wishes.

I think nowadays employees have become very smart and always give a tough time to HR guys. While motivating them, we are losing our motivation because to motivate them, we always demand something extra or are always looking for some special approval from management. In all this breathless running, we are losing our motivation and morale.

Now, I can understand that it's very difficult to deal with human beings.

Anyway, thanks for your reply.

Hello,

I have not yet read others' opinions, so please bear with me if I am repeating any suggestions pointed out by them.

What motivates you may not motivate me. For instance, if I don't get a nod or a smile from my Senior Management but just a yearly hike, I'd rather not work. That is what motivates me :-)

Do you get the point? First identify "what" motivates your employees. They may have issues that need to be confronted firsthand. Your ideas are brilliant. I would say they are really good. But just do an initial task of identifying what motivates your employees - this is "the need factor" which may be Money (salary revision / monetary rewards / performance hikes), status (title upgradation, personalized benefits), or even non-monetary aspects like an email from the Head of HR or even the director acknowledging one's efforts.

Before you test how they are happy with the motivation programs, why don't you do a survey on "what will you suggest to make the place a lovely place to work."

So, initially, meet those needs of the employees that are immediate - it may be as simple as providing a neat and nice area/space of work! Please find that out.

Your employees are not behaving strangely - they are changing due to some issues (at personal/work front) that may force them to act so. Imagine if a person has a sick family member at home, or if someone's wife is due for delivery, or if someone's kid is not well and may feel sad being left out at home on a Sunday, or if there is a financial crisis, or a marriage, or not a very understanding family - there are "n" number of reasons why they can justify their non-participation.

I think you have a great task ahead. Find out what motivates them.

About the high salary expectation - let them know you are within the industry standards. Let not a salary issue be the reason for being demotivated. You can always make a non-monetary reward policy.

Give away free dinner coupons for family in a 5-star hotel. Give away shopping coupons with discount price. Now that it's the holiday - children may have fun learning some useful skills like swimming or painting or even learning a musical instrument. Motivate employees to encourage their kids to participate in such activities and suggest locations for the same. It's more personal and - trust me - they will love such initiatives.

Hi,

My opinion is to make arrangements for motivating employees to an extent. That will change the situation.

Soja

Oh yeah! Let me share my experience of taking my previous colleagues to a water theme park - Veega Land. Very few turned up on the day we planned, but we still went ahead, enjoyed, and they came back and told the others how much they missed such a great day! 😂

Hi,

I believe your employees are facing issues with their salaries and increments. Why don't you organize a session this month involving your Directors? This session could be part of the Company Orientation where you share the company's goals, upcoming projects, and achievements with your employees. Discuss the growth opportunities for every individual in the company. Make them feel valued and motivated in their roles. This approach might help lighten their minds. Consider incorporating some soft skills training on assertive thinking and stress management.

Cheers!
Ashwini

1) Hats off to Your Frank Acceptance of the Fact you are Getting irritation
2) Don't Feel Bad for the Same, as irritation is the output of your feeling & thoughts
3) You are unable to cope, so that has come out as Irritation
4) You have taken / implementing good initiatives for the welfare of employees
5) That's really Good
6) Any Effort if there no expected/fruitful output will go in VAIN
7) Do a Feedback of the Exercise on what you are doing in the Get Together
8) The following can be the criteria
a. Get together Theme for the Month
b. Location
c. Recipe
d. Activities
e. Involvement
f. Games
g. Food Presentation
9) Take a Rating 1-5, with 1 being Best & 5 Being Worst
10) Take a Thorough feedback from every employee
11) Analyse the Feedback
12) Understand the areas of improvement
13) Implement the way the employees wants it
14) Never organize any event(Outing) on Sundays/Holidays
15) Employee Needs some time for himself/Family

Ask them to put forward their ideas because you have to know what they need. Try to create some spokes among them who initiate the process. Get them going about teamwork.

Hi,

Good prizes usually work well. Also, there must be at least a few people who are enthusiastic. Try to get them involved or have some representatives from the teams. It will give you a helping hand; and since they are involved, they would make an extra effort to bring their teammates along.

Have you tried organizing something like antakshari or a quiz, where teams from all the projects/departments need to participate? If you have not, you can consider it. Are there any specific leaders who are quite popular and respected by many? Would it be possible to get them involved in the activities?

One more thought... Is your team looking forward to any technical or soft skills training rather than just focusing on fun activities? Will that reflect the management as their well-wisher? Think it over.

Regards,
Shefali

Hey Rohit,

I understand your problem. First, make your employees feel comfortable. Try to conduct some games inside the office and spend 1 or 2 hours. You can split your employees into teams and then ask for suggestions for events.

Thanks and Regards,
Priya R

Bad loser Sir and some of our other respected members have already given you valuable views.

In addition, you say it's a firm of 70 employees, so it's easy for you to communicate with them. As you are the HR, try to mingle freely with your employees and find out what's really bothering them. The best, simple, easy way is to chat with them. For instance, when you find a group of employees chatting during coffee breaks, join them, have a casual chat about their work, current status, future plans, family, etc. (trust me, they will be really engaged in the chat with you since you are an HR and might even say exactly what's bothering them). This way you'll have an idea.

And so, you might come to know what's the reason behind this. Is it monetary, management, personal, or the manager bothering them, or is it the HR itself?

(Just a small opinion, please don't mistake it. As far as possible, never ever arrange any event on a Sunday. Even if it's a group of 5000, only a few would show up because this is the day they concentrate on their personal work.)

Compact,

Read all responses and pick up a suitable answer. You may have misunderstood the employees' priorities and are seeking solutions from us, which may or may not be appropriate. Conduct an employee opinion survey, analyze the results, and present the findings to management; this is the most practical method.

Best regards,

I appreciate the ideas shared by Sourabh Deval and also second the opinion of Mr Peer Mohd. that such events should never be held on holidays.
Got really enlightened by this thread.
Prashant

Dear all members,

Thank you for your participation and your suggestions that may help me out. Apart from that, as I mentioned in my last post, when I asked 50 employees for suggestions for an event activity, I received 50 suggestions. In such a situation, what can we do? Please keep sharing your views and suggestions.

Thanks

Hello,

I understand your concern and predicament. As an HR professional, you should have, by now, understood why employees behave in such a manner, showing a lukewarm response. You are not sure, but you mention salary as a reason. However, it may not be the case. When you convince them that everything is for their personal and career growth, they will respond. You may find the answer the moment you assess whether you are effective and efficient in your endeavors. If you don't make mistakes, your posting has a lot of errors. If you demonstrate that you are the one they are looking for, well, they may respond. Even then, if they don't respond, they are the losers, not you. Furthermore, why doesn't management take employees seriously?

Ravi, I think I can call you "punch dialogue Ravi" for the straightforward words you use in all your replies. Haha...

Regards,
Chandru

Employees are never satisfied with any motivational activities. I have noticed in many companies that people try to find silly issues in HR and Accounts. If you send out an email for a get-together or arrange a samosa party, they always try to find fault. "What do we do, yaar, samosa and all?" So, it's better to have very minimal activities in the company.