How Can I Motivate Employees When Salaries Are Delayed and Morale Is Low?

Dear HR Gurus,

I am working in a software company as an HR executive. In my company, employees are not satisfied because they are not receiving their salaries on time. In fact, some employees have not been paid for 2 or 3 months. There are employees in the Sales and Support departments who receive their salaries on time or after requesting, and they inform other employees about it. This situation creates discrimination among the employees whose salaries have been pending for 2 or 3 months. I have discussed this issue with management, but they say that due to a shortage of funds, it is not possible to release all pending salaries at once. They have decided to prioritize employees who request their salaries first, and they are currently unable to release salaries on time. Management has deemed this a challenging task for me and expects me to convince the employees and provide suggestions for implementation.

Now, HR Gurus, I am in a dilemma, unsure of what suggestions to give to management and how to motivate the highly dissatisfied employees. I seek your valuable guidance in this regard.

Thanks and regards,
Sonia

Sonia,

According to me, if your company is facing a problem with funds, they cannot expect employees to wait for their salary for 2-3 months. No employee will be ready to understand the criticality of the situation as the situation in their house will be more critical than this.

Ask your management to disburse at least 50% of the salary to every employee. Everyone should receive the money to manage their homes.

Dear Mr. Ravi,

I need suggestions, not a comment on how we people get the HR job. If you don't have any suggestions, then kindly don't comment. Put yourself in my shoes and try to analyze the situation. I am in HR, not management. I can only fight for my employees' salary; it is up to management whether they disburse the salary or not.

I need your guidance. If you were in my situation, what would you do? In fact, at this time, I don't understand what suggestions I should give to management and what tools I should use to motivate employees if their basic need (money) is not met on time.

Hi Sonia,

Forget about words like motivating, engaging, etc., for employees; these are stylish wants when the basic needs are fulfilled.

You have to take a tough stand with the management:

A company must pay the employees within 7 working days after a month is complete, as per some government act. If any employee files a case, then the company will be doomed forever. An employee works to get a salary at the end of the month, not for motivation. The company, in fact, does not need an HR person if it is not respecting the basic employment requirement. So put up a straight and bold case in front of the management for the basic right of employees, which is salaries in time. If the company does not have enough funds, ask the management to take half/delayed salary, but employees must be paid on time.

In fact, this is your first and foremost duty as an HR person. If this problem can be addressed effectively, then other things you can take up later on. Be prepared to lose your job also. So you need to be strongly assertive and persistent on this issue.

It will not help your career if you work in such a company where basic rights are considered a privilege.

Thanks,

Geeta

Please arrange to pay employees at least 50% instead of paying a few employees 100%. Due to a liquidity problem, a delay in salary payment can be understood, but that should not be discriminated on a job basis, as it is important because every employee has to pay their monthly bills.

Convince management to pay 50% of the salary to all employees until the financial position is restored.

Partho

I agree with Parthasarthi. Something is better than nothing. So, as the case is, salespeople are directly involved in bringing revenues, so the management is liable to pay them first. But what you can suggest to the management is to release at least a considerable percentage to the employees who have not received anything for the last few months.

From your end, there is nothing you can do to "MOTIVATE" these people. But you can counsel them to bear the hard times in your way.

On the other hand, you have to take a hard stand in front of the management. You have to act as the employees' representative and devise a middle path.

Regards,
Tangent

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Hi Sonia,

First of all, your company is engaging in unlawful activities. If anyone sues your management, only then will they realize how bad it is. Kindly organize a meeting with all employees to inform them of the real facts. However, it is likely that they may not consider this meeting seriously because everyone needs their salary and no one will work for free. As an HR professional, you must understand the employees' needs. Be bold, consider the employees' perspectives, and provide valuable suggestions to your management.

My request is not to make any personal comments here.

Hi Sonia,

There's nothing to hide with the employees, as salary payment is a must for all the companies. I agree with many here who have suggested you talk to management for at least 50% pay. It's the job of an HR to support the staff more than the management. You should be assertive between the two ends.

Smitha

Dear Sonia,

I can understand your situation as I have also gone through the same phase once.

According to me:

1. Identify and prioritize employees who haven't received salaries for a long time.

2. As mentioned in other comments, try to convince your management to release some percentage of the salaries, at least for those who are on your priority list.

3. Meanwhile, as you are the only person who bridges between employees and management, employees will definitely come to you with their financial problems. Here, you have to be patient and listen to everyone. Instead of trying to motivate them, you have to console them. Avoid giving them false promises about salary release dates; otherwise, they will lose trust in you too.

4. Please inform your management that this could create legal issues, so they have to release some amount of salaries.

5. Some employees may submit resignations, so be prepared for that as well. Communicate this to your management that the company could lose some good employees because of this issue.

There is nothing in your hands, so you could just try to convince your management and console your employees. Motivating is out of the question because, in the end, people work for money, nothing else.

Regards,

Tripti Khare

I agree with Mr. Ravi, Sonia. Motivation... are you joking? Can you work without a salary? Can your management work by stopping their salary for 2-3 months? Does your company have any rules or policies? There are no fund problems for your management or other departments? Then, there is only one solution: tell your management team they should resign because they are not capable.

Dada

Dear Sonia,

I understand the type of rope-walking you are doing. It's a really tough time managing employees not paid and the management. There are many suggestions already. I don't want to give one. It will confuse you more. Don't lose your cool with employees. Listen to them and pass it on to the management. This way, you may be good to both. But the management can't ask you to talk to employees for not paying salary. It's their problem.

Dear Sonu,

It is ridiculous to hear that your company has kept its employees unpaid for months. You might know that salary is the first and foremost motivation for an employee. Without providing that, you can't expect them to keep working and following all the rules of the management. Your stake in this is too tough. You can't ask the employees to keep silent and keep working without raising their voice.

Here, I suggest two things. These might not be legal according to HR policies, but reality sometimes teaches us such things.

1. Already, your employees have not received their salary. Ask them to wait for a certain period so that they may get paid. If they start raising issues, then management will simply shut its doors and send them all out even without paying them for the period they worked. One such incident happened in my previous company, and the company was locked out. Not only did the employees lose their jobs, but also their two months' salary, which was being delayed.

2. Being an HR professional, try to get access to the company's finance department and understand what they have planned to pay out in salaries. Also, check and confirm whether the business cycle works correctly and if the revenue generation by the company has not been affected. If the finance department has no clues to these questions, then the company is in deep trouble. If they have some plans really to pay out, then give them a piece of the employees' mind that they won't wait after a particular date that you have asked them to wait (as mentioned in point 1). Don't disclose that you asked them to wait until that day and that they were discussing it.

Hope you get some idea out of this.

Regards,
Hari.

No employee can work without a salary, and I think salary is the main motivation for the employee. Everyone gives first preference to salary and secondly to other things. I agree with all those who are saying that your management should pay employees at least 50% of their salary.