Motivating Employees Beyond Recognition Programs: What Truly Boosts Productivity?

Motivating Employees for Enhanced Productivity

Kindly assist me on how to motivate employees to be more productive. We already appreciate them by having a 'Week of the Employee' and 'Month of the Employee'. We also provide special services to ensure their happiness.

Kindly help me out.

Regards,
K. Yadav

That's a good idea. You can also have open conversations with employees. I have often seen that talking with employees always motivates them to work hard. Another suggestion is to have a discussion or an open house meeting once a month. The company can also give appreciation certificates for special tasks. These are some ideas...

Only certificates won't help. You need to engage your employees by planning some fun or social activities. This shall help in team building. Don't offer too much recognition (e.g., Employee of the Week, Employee of the Month, day, hour, second, etc.). Sometimes an acknowledgment in front of coworkers also works wonders. At other times, we need to give rewards or incentives for motivation. Of course, your objectives for such rewards or incentives must be realistic and attainable. Show them the group goals or organization goals to be attained and provide a brief idea about how each department's role is contributing towards the common organizational goal, which shall help performance-based pay. Also, introduce some form of healthy competition which actually helps performance.

Regards

What Motivates Employees?

1. Money
2. Recognition
3. Rewards

It is a complex exercise to recognize what motivates employees. We cannot derive a common formula and apply the same across the board in the organization. Then how do we arrive at it? Discussing, spending time, making personal sacrifices in life, and ensuring attendance at family functions of employees if you are invited can help you understand their status. Moreover, when you attend such functions, you will be able to identify distinct tribes within your organization (by tribes, I mean groups). This will be a valuable source of information as an HR professional.

For example, if you attend a wedding at an employee's house, you will be able to assess the financial status of the brothers and sisters of the employee. If the status of your employee is on par or higher, then money may not be the motivating factor for him. On the other hand, if the status is below them, money could be a motivating factor (please remember I have used "could be" and not "will be").

There will be a lot of information available on the shop floor regarding the expectations of different employees, and you need to tap into these resources. Be aware that you distinguish information from rumors as well. This is because once employees sense that you are tapping information, false inputs may also be seeded into the system.

One of the most important factors that go unnoticed is the improper grievance redressal procedure. Show genuine concern in listening (not merely hearing) to employee grievances. Sometimes they are so trivial that you can sort them out yourself. Examples may include the non-availability of first aid materials in the first aid box, improper functioning of the swipe card system, non-updation of leave entries, etc. Addressing these issues will bring people closer to you.

I am not an expert in Organizational Behavior but have learned over the years. Rewards and recognitions are certainly motivating factors, but all the assessments that lead to these must be transparent.

Best regards,
M.V. Kannan

There are six areas you need to focus on to motivate the employees. When you improve employee perception in these areas, motivation and performance go up.

1. Hope for the future: Does the company have a bright future? Do I have a bright future in the company?

2. Stability: Does this organization provide me with a stable job and working environment?

3. Trust: Can I trust my organization, manager, colleagues, and team?

4. Belonging and team spirit: Do I belong to the team? Am I valued, recognized, respected, and supported?

5. Compensation and benefits: Am I rewarded and compensated well?

6. Opportunity to play to strengths: Do I get the opportunity to do and showcase what I do well?

If you want to know more about this, write to me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Identifying Factors of Demotivation

It's important to identify the factors that are responsible for demotivation before introducing any strategy. There can be reasons for demotivation, such as internal dynamics existing within the employees (office politics, as they say) or monotony of work. Planning a small outing may help alleviate it. However, it is essential to share your views about work with them in an open forum. This will give you a lead to identify the reason behind demotivation and address it accordingly. Often, we plan strategies at our level, but the beneficiaries hardly understand their importance. Try making your approach more participatory. All the best!

Regards,
Prajakta.

This is from my personal experience and expectation, as I am also an employee. Perhaps it could be of your assistance.

1) Educate on Organization Growth: Organizations should impart training (quarterly/as appropriate) to educate employees on their achievements and future goals, and plans to achieve them.

2) Employee Growth: Organizations should help their employees realize what opportunities exist for their growth within the organization.

3) Work Environment: Team spirit, feeling part of a team, being valued, appreciated, and rewarded are essential.

4) Scope of Improvement: Management should scrutinize areas where employees may be lacking and provide opportunities to improve by offering required training, which could allow them to grow further and avail promotions and recognition.

5) Freedom: Employees' ideas, opinions, and innovations should be welcomed.

6) Employee Friendly: People in higher management should be accessible to employees and should always be open to hearing and resolving their concerns.

7) Utmost Importance—Personal Touch: We are all emotional people and spend more time at the office than at home. Hence, it's always expected that organizations care for their employees.

• Should celebrate occasions with all employees.
• If invited, should not miss attending personal functions.
• The leave policy in practice should be satisfactory to employees.

Again, there are many more ways to motivate employees. But the bottom line is that any policies should be employee-friendly.

Thanks & regards,

Hari Meharchandani

From my past experiences, we organized a quarterly communication session initiated by HR. It is a communication session attended by all staff. The topics are the current challenges faced by each department that are "good to know" by others. Each department should randomly appoint someone from their team to present the topics.

With this activity, we hope to achieve the following:
1. Everyone will be aware of the situation within the company and be motivated to participate.
2. The staff appointed will feel appreciated by the company for presenting.

Thanks,
Johnson Panggabean
Indonesia

We are listing associates' names on the board for the "Top Performer of the Week." By acknowledging their efforts towards the organization through email, this will help them in their appraisals.

Regards,
Sharad

Hello everyone, recently, I have joined this site. HR employee recognition is most important when dealing with low-productivity personnel. To motivate them, we need to initiate employee engagement programs.

I agree 100% with both of you. First, we should find out the area or root cause of demotivation as Prajakta suggests, and then plan accordingly as Hari recommends.

Regards,
Arun

It's important to identify the factors that are responsible for demotivation before introducing any strategy. There are many ways that can be used to motivate employees. However, the bottom line is that any organization should follow policies that are employee-friendly.

Best Regards,
Rohit Stephen
Business Development Services
Vendor Development

Hi Kalpana,

To motivate employees to be more productive:

a) Encourage them to complete their work before the deadline, and the entire team will be rewarded. This will also carry an added incentive during salary reviews.

b) Inform employees that increased productivity will lead to more advanced training opportunities, and they will have the chance to meet the core team that initiated the project.

c) Suggest that employees plan a timetable to finish their work, ensuring they do not get bored while working.

Regards,
Manish
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I totally agree with you, Kannan. Having started as an executive and now as a Leadership Development Manager, I have been on both sides of the fence. Over the years, I have seen and experienced for myself that it is the little gestures that make an employee feel valued. After a point, money and incentives are no longer the sole motivators to bring out performance. It's the personal bond we build with them by acknowledging and recognizing the little things like applauding good performance, checking on their health when they call in sick, organizing fun activities once in a while, having themes during festive times (dress codes, games), and wishing them on their special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries), etc., that go a long way in making an employee feel important and motivated.

Additionally, assigning collaterals to those interested in growth and having in-house programs that encourage employee development are a few things that are sure to make employees more productive.

I would like to reiterate, money and perks alone do not suffice for good employee morale. We are dealing with humans, and each of us wants to feel important in others' lives.

Employee Motivation and Financial Incentives

Finally, regarding employee financial matters, if you are not providing some monetary incentives, all your certificates and recognition efforts may go in vain.

Regards.

Motivation is very subjective and can be individual-specific. One has to find out the individual needs that satisfy them and what will motivate them. Your approach should depend on each individual to be motivated. Each of your employees would be motivated differently than giving a management fundamental. So, be yourself in judging and selecting the motivational approach for each member of the team.

Regards,
Sajjad Kadri
Honeywell International India Ltd
ADI - Division
Ahmedabad

There are many ways or steps to motivate employees, for example:

Organize Management Events According to the Situation and Culture of Your Company

1. Games and Sports:
- Slow cycle competition, cricket, etc.

2. Competitions:
- Slogan/painting/quiz competitions on safety, productivity, quality, social, political, general knowledge, etc.

3. Seminars:
- Half-hour seminars on Women's Day, Environment Day, Safety Day, etc.

4. Cultural Programs:
- Involve only workers/employees, not outsiders.

5. Yoga/Meditation Classes:
- One week of yoga/meditation classes for half an hour, etc.

I have already organized and enjoyed these activities, in addition to incentive schemes, when I was the GM (HR) at JBM Ltd, Omax, etc., creating a healthy and peaceful environment.