Motivation of employees is the route to high performance.
The key to motivation is finding out what people want to do and what is important to them. If you then manage to work out together how they can do it and at the same time to match your motivation, then you can claim success. Little excitement and too much stress damage the business performance. 19th century was depending on natural resources, 21st century is depending on human capital.
The four basic types of motivation that all executives should consider (FORM)
• FUN, a motivator of doing something on impulse either because we like it or because it makes us feel good.
• OBLIGATION, a motivator of doing something out of obligation because someone has done a favour to us and we feel duty-bound to respond to his request.
• RUNNING AWAY, is when we motivate people by letting them see what’s in for them, pointing out the issues so they can see and decide to how they should act.
• MONEY is a motivator but rarely the key one if employees are being rewarded in line with their expectations.
Real motivation is usually more about a feeling of self-worth and appreciation.
Employees are the lifeblood of any organisation and their actions determine the extent of its success. Not only the HR Departments but also Managers have to be committed to develop and strengthen their human capital. Discover the talents and plan well ahead for the succession of key positions. The value of the human capital is acknowledged today as one of the major differentiating sources of strategic advantage any organization can have.
Employees must find meaning in and through their work. Smart employers are finding ways to help them in this respect. This is of great importance and the key issue for HR and People Management. Organisations and mostly their executive management have to confront the fact that the psychological contract has changed and employees are expecting their workplaces to help them find meaning and happiness in what they do. Some of the main reasons good employees abandon their employment, is when they feel or sense that there is no room for them to “climb the ladder”, or when there is lack of communication with the management, as well as insufficient HR administration.
Many executive managers spend most of their time stuck securely in their comfort zones, shutting out signals that it is time for change or improvement. They focus on their own interests rather than the greater good, relying on their material possessions. To define themselves they look for other people’s opinions instead of looking inside them to discover their real selves.
Executives should be able to fill the gap between their own values and how they actually behave in order to claim success.
Modern organizations depend upon the development of their people and not on their exploitation. Their HR departments have a major role to play in better people management, as well as managers themselves have to motivate and manage their staff effectively. To achieve all the needed improvements, organizations provide their managers with training as well as with coaching support; both training and coaching are an absolute must and go together, if we like to gain better results. HR managers recognize that the secret ingredient of success today, is that people management and business performance are indivisible.
Organising and attending workshops, to come up with ideas originating from other people’s experiences, can lead in making organizations a fantastic place not only to work but also to do business with. Then the results in terms of business and people performance can be phenomenal.
Nora Dikaios
Director
PowerImage / MISCO Cyprus HR Services
