Factors affecting Employee Motivation and Engagement

 

High Employee Engagement and Motivation leads to high performance in the organization. To achieve and improve performance, organizations need active employee engagement by encouraging motivation (Riyanto et al., 2011).

In order to identify and follow the methods to keep the employees engaged and motivated, it is essential to identify factors affecting Employee Engagement and Motivation as shown in the below Figure 01 and Figure 02.

Figure 01: Factors affecting Employee engagement

Source: (Salman et al., 2018)

The above diagram briefly shows some Factors affecting Employee Engagement.

Figure 02: Factors affecting Employee Motivation

Source: (Rahim, 2013)

The above diagram shows some examples of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards which leads to Motivation.

 

Some factors affecting Employee Motivation and Engagement are being discussed below;

·        Talent Management and Career Development

Talent Management is the Strategic process of hiring the right talented people onboard and grooming them to grow and achieve organizational goals (Alziari, 2017). Career Development is where an individual choose a particular career and advance in that career path setting new goals time to time and acquiring needed skills to achieve the same (Davis, 2015). It is a give and take approach where Employees will commit and engage to an Employer who invests on them.

 

·        Leadership

Leadership is a process where individuals influence other individuals to achieve or reach commonly desired outcomes (Northhouse, 2010). There are numerous leadership styles and approaches practiced globally. A leader/manager who follows an appropriate leadership style/approach depending on the particular situation and the employee context, would give Job satisfaction to the employee which is a motivational factor.

 

·        Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisals are periodic systematic evaluations of an employee's job performance against a set of expectations and goals. The results of this evaluation are used decide on the rewards, promotion and growth/ development given to the employee and also staffing and succession planning from the organization’s context (Gomez-Mejia, 1989). Generally, in the Banking Institution I work for, KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are set in the beginning of a financial year and the progress of achieving those are reviewed quarterly or half yearly in order to derive on the final rating. One-on-one discussions are held between the supervisor and the subordinate in order to come to a final agreement on the rating. The Bank managers are encouraged to establish, an unbiased, fair and a transparent appraisal technique without favouration will give results of high employee engagement and motivation.

 

·        Remuneration package

A remuneration package is the total compensation offered to employees for their service or work. It includes basic salary plus additional forms of cash incentives and non-cash incentives (Karim, 2021). In the Bank I work for, Cash incentives are in the form of bonuses, allowances, cash reimbursements, company shares, insurance and medical schemes, pension schemes, monetary incentives, and more. Non-cash incentives are in the form of flexible work hours, company vehicles and drivers, office mobile phones and devices, accommodation, leave entitlement, wellness and healthcare programs, and more. Providing these perks to the employees satisfy/ motivate them to work in the Bank Branch or Department to which they are attached to, leading to the enhancement of the engagement level of the employees.

 

·        Recognition and Empowerment

Employee Recognition is when employees are recognized and relevant appreciation is given for their contributions towards work and their behavior in certain situations and with other people (Ghosh et al., 2016). Empowerment is to become stronger, confident and gain self-determination (Klagge, 1998). As such, employee empowerment is to let employees express their views for management decisions which might affect their work roles. The Bank I work for supports employees to become more creative and find innovative methods to eventually ease out and efficiently effect the Bank’s operational functions. This engagement will motivate the employees and create a sense of belongingness towards the Bank.

References

Alziari, L. (2017), "A chief HR officer’s perspective on talent management", Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 4(4), pp. 379-383. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-05-2017-0047. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.

Davis, P.J. (2015), "Implementing an employee career-development strategy: How to build commitment and retain employees", Human Resource Management International Digest, 23(4), pp. 28-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-05-2015-0066. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.

Ghosh, P., Rai, A., Chauhan, R., Baranwal, G. and Srivastava, D. (2016), "Rewards and recognition to engage private bank employees: Exploring the “obligation dimension”", Management Research Review, 39(12), pp. 1738-1751. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-09-2015-0219. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.

Gomez‐Mejia, L. R. (1989), "Performance Appraisal: Testing a Process Model", Journal of Managerial Psychology, 4(3), pp. 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001719. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.

Karim, S. (2021), "An investigation into the remuneration–CSR nexus and if it can be affected by board gender diversity", Corporate Governance, 21(4), pp. 608-625. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-08-2020-0320. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.

Klagge, J. (1998), "The empowerment squeeze ‐ views from the middle management position", Journal of Management Development, 17(8), pp. 548-558. Available at https://doi.org/10.1108/02621719810228407. Accessed on 2^nd May 2022.

Northhouse, P, G. (2010) Leadership: Theory and Practice. [Online]. Available at https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/33554_Chapter1.pdf Accessed on 20th April 2022

Rahim, M. A. (2013) REWARDS AND MOTIVATION AMONG ADMINISTRATORS OF UNIVERSITI SULTAN ZAINAL ABIDIN (UNISZA). AN EMPIRICAL STUDY Wan Norhayate Wan Daud. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Conceptual-framework-of-the-rewards-and-motivation_fig1_322162926. Accessed on 1^st May 2022

Riyanto, S., Endri, E., and Herlisha, N, (2011) Problems and Perspectives in Management. Effect of work motivation and job satisfaction on employee performance: Mediating role of employee engagement.19(3). [Online]. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Setyo-Riyanto/publication/354034008_Effect_of_work_motivation_and_job_satisfaction_on_employee_performance_Mediating_role_of_employee_engagement/links/61249c78a8348b1a46ff48ea/Effect-of-work-motivation-and-job-satisfaction-on-employee-performance-Mediating-role-of-employee-engagement.pdf. Accessed on 1^st May 2022

Salman, B. M., Shahrukh, B. S., and Santosh, K. (2018) Assessing the work engagement, work practices and work performance in banks. Available at  https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Factors-toward-employee-engagement_fig2_328274224. Accessed on 1^st May 2022.