Employee Motivation Strategies

Paauwe (2004) stresses the role of various types of team building activities in order for the each individual member of the team to be motivated. In order to achieve a greater positive impact, Paauwe (2004) stresses, team building activities have to be conducted in an environment outside of office and in informal circumstances.

Shermon (2004) expands the above point by stating that company management has to adopt a proactive approach in terms of celebrating memorable dates that relate to everyone such as company anniversaries and a range of national and international holidays, as well as celebrations related to individual members within the workforce such as birthdays, additions to family etc.

Moreover, Johns et al (2005) offer interesting viewpoint in terms of motivating employees in the workplace. Specifically authors state that managers have to be effectively motivated themselves in order to be able to motivate their subordinates. However, Johns et al (2005) fail to provide any sound recommendations in terms of self-motivation to be engaged by managers.

Johns et al (2005) also maintain that employee motivation activities should be institutionalised within business activities and not to be occasional activities managers engage in. Furthermore, the authors state that there should be an employee motivation program established in organisations that should ensure systematic employee motivation through a range of measures that might include training and development programs, appreciations of the most notable contributions to the success done by individuals and groups through tangible and intangible means etc.

Torrington et al (2008) take this advice to the next level by stating that ‘infrastructure of motivation’ should be present within organisations that include devising organisational systems including various policies and procedures in such a way that they contribute to the level of employee motivation.

References

• Torrington, D, Hall, L & Taylor, S, 2008, Human Resource Management, Pearson Education
• Johns, T, Robinson, IM & Weightman, J, 2005, Managing People, Blackwell Publishing
• Paauwe, J, 2004, HRM and Performance: Achieving Long-term Viability, Oxford University Press
• Shermon, G, 2004, Competency Based HRM, Tata McGraw-Hill