Employees need to be motivated to do the work set for them and a recent study shows that the level of motivational skills in some managers is not as high as could be expected. According to a recent European study, employers need to be more hands-on when aiding their managers’ motivation of poorer performing staff. The study shows that whilst top-performing staff members are fairly easy to manage, managers are not so skilled in handling those who do not perform well. As a result, companies are missing out on opportunities for greater organisational performance.
The study covered 175 businesses across Europe, receiving opinions from 5,500 employees. It was shown that 66% of top performers agreed that their immediate managers fared well in relating organisational and performance management issues to staff, whilst the figure was decidedly lower among poorer performing employers.
It was found that less than 30% of those interviewed thought their manager performed well in rewarding employees for performance or indeed linking personal performance to rewards. It seems that to encourage a greater standard of performance, managers need to be better at determining their objectives and attaining the right communication links with their staff, particularly with those employees who are underachieving. Employees will generally perform at a higher level if they are fully aware of the objectives that are set out for them.
Another recent survey, which was carried out amongst 1,500 employees from small to large organisations around the UK, stated that UK managers’ inability to give employees a clear indication of what is required of them, as well as an impaired ability to motivate staff and deal with those who under-perform, is having a detrimental effect on company performance.
The survey found that 77% of employees interviewed were concerned that their manager did not show interest in them, 90% claimed their manager did little or nothing about employees who underachieved, 79% stated that their manager did not pinpoint clear goals and 89% stated that their manager did not consider different approaches and ideas. Further research found that in the UK alone, over HKD 450 million each year was being wasted on poor performing members of staff. Two thirds of those interviewed as part of the survey blamed line managers for their lack of enthusiasm in motivational matters.
So, how do organisations deal with this problem?
Good managers may motivate their staff using several methods:
Regular feedback
To begin with, give regular and ongoing feedback, making sure that time is spent covering the positive aspects of each of your employees’ work roles. Yes, employees need to be made aware of their failings, but there are ways and means of doing this. Using a positive spin to show an employee how to improve in a certain area, for example, helps without the employee feeling they have been given a dressing down that reduces their morale.
Personalised reward schemes
You could use reward schemes, but should you really have to bribe your employees to do the work they have been set? No, but rewarding them for working harder than expected and achieving set targets and time-related objectives is a good way to motivate your staff to go above and beyond the call of duty as and when necessary. You can reward your staff with gifts rather than money, but ensure it is something the staff member would want or actually use.
Non-monetary incentives
Other types of benefits that could be used as motivational incentives include longer lunch hours and later start times. Flexibility is appreciated by all staff, and this in turn would encourage them to achieve their objectives.
A good manager will listen and take onboard any problems that their members of staff might have, whether work-related or otherwise. So, a manager also needs to act as a part-time therapist, again stressing the importance of having good social and people skills. Employees want and need someone who is trustworthy, and can guide them in their work. If this basic function is not in practise, then the employees will not respond well.
Making it happen
The points outlined above may appear to be just common sense, but HR managers should ensure that organisations make all managers aware of what is required of them in terms of motivating their team and providing help to keep this ongoing. Organisations, as a whole, need to take more time determining whether or not the managers they have selected are keeping their staff motivated and happy.
Training up managers
Employers should also aid their management staff to motivate poorer performing staff members through providing adequate training. There are a plethora of companies offering such training courses for managers. When selecting an appropriate one it is desirable that managers learn to get the best out of their employees by understanding exactly what powers staff performance. Training can also include help with understanding reward schemes, personal motivation, renegotiating job descriptions to suit individual motivational possibilities, applying correct targets, dealing with employees who under-perform and effective disciplinary procedures.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
