Motivating Employees
EMPLOYEES are motivated in various ways. It may be surprising to see that something one employee rejects can motivate another. Some employees find pleasure in doing certain tasks that others may dislike.
Anyone who has a leadership role must understand that the same approach cannot please all their employees. It is therefore essential to study the employees you are required to work or interact with on a daily basis to ascertain how best you can meet everyone’s needs while minimising any adverse effects.
When employees are motivated, they can do wonders! A motivated workforce can enable an organisation to achieve its targets. A motivated school-age child may perform excellently in all their examinations. A motivated employee may go beyond the normal call of duty to ensure that the organisation achieves its goals.
It is challenging for leaders to understand their employees’ needs consistently. A very effective way to learn about someone’s needs is to ask them. Some employees are just waiting for you to ask so that they may tell you what motivates them.
On many occasions, some employees may stand on the sidelines and assume they know an individual’s needs. While that approach may be correct at times, it will be wrong at others.
Effective Communication with Employees
With effective communication, there is an opportunity for feedback. Through that approach, a final decision may be made or a better understanding achieved. For example, suppose an employee is motivated by overtime work, but the organisation’s management explains to them that the organisation cannot afford to offer overtime for one reason or another.
Some of the conflicts an organisation experiences could be resolved through effective communication. Employees’ motives may also be better understood in this way. Some managers want employees to approach them and express everything that motivates them, but that may not be realistic. The manager should instead create an atmosphere that allows for effective communication, enabling employees’ needs to be identified.

Trade Unions
There are times when employees can negotiate their compensation with the employer independently. However, there are other situations and organisations where a third party will be needed to assist in negotiating employees’ compensation. On many occasions, trade union representatives are skilled and mentally prepared to discuss a wide range of matters with management to ensure each employee receives an increase in compensation. They also negotiate for other entitlements beyond salaries.
There are times when trade union representatives must fight long and fierce battles with the organisation in order for employees to be provided with basic necessities (e.g., safety gear, an appropriate lunch hour, etc.). Not all negotiated items are about money.
Trade unionists must ensure that they protect workers and work towards their well-being. They must also strive to establish a healthy and open relationship with the organisation, so that less time is spent debating and more time is spent on productive meetings. It is also expected that management will work with the union to ensure that employees are treated well and receive fair pay for their work.
Some employers take pride in adequately compensating their employees. When this is done, employees often work diligently for their employers, and there is likely to be less tension between the two parties. Some employees will even boast to friends, family and others about how well their employer treats them. Because organisations compete in the labour market, they should consider employees not just as a cost but as a resource in which the organisation has invested and from which it expects valuable returns (Noe et al., 2015).
When this happens, employees may remain with such an employer for many years — sometimes even until retirement — due to the good treatment they receive. Employers must remember that, with globalisation, employees can leave one organisation and seek work elsewhere. Therefore, the employer must explore how to compensate employees adequately and retain them for the long term.
Whenever an experienced and knowledgeable employee leaves an organisation, that organisation may suffer a decline in performance — especially if no one was understudying that employee or if their responsibilities were not properly documented. Many long-serving employees have institutional knowledge that no software can adequately capture. Organisations should therefore put systems in place to retain employees who are having a positive impact and who demonstrate the right attitude toward work.
Employers must avoid situations where high-quality employees leave simply because the organisation refused to pay a small raise they could afford. When experienced employees leave, replacements may be found — but not always of the same quality.
All employees must be treated with importance and respect Employees possess institutional memory that can help an organisation make a significant impact on the world. Compensation is always an important decision for management. Many employers are seeking workers with the very skills your organisation needs. If they offer just a few dollars more, they may attract an employee who felt undervalued in their previous workplace. Every employee is important, and employers must treat them as such and ensure they feel it.
Vacation
One of the key differences between people and machines is that humans require time to rest. The best individuals deserve rest, and the organisation must ensure that every employee is provided with that opportunity.

Delegation
Supervising officers who delegate tasks to others help develop their employees’ skills. Once subordinates get sufficient practice with certain responsibilities, they will improve and, in time, may be able to take on full responsibility.
Supervising officers should aim to delegate more, which in turn may give them time and space to learn new skills themselves. When delegation is practised, the organisation is more likely to have multiple capable individuals as needed when the need arises.
Some may ask why delegation is important. The diagram below provides some answers to this question.
For More Information
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