Name: Edem Elizabeth kofoworola

Matric no: 215754

Department: Political science

Course code: Soc 358

Question
As a human resource manager, what steps would
you take to motivate and encourage your
employee to remain in the organization.
Motivating employees is an important aspect of a company's daily operations, as it can help encourage
staff members to be successful and effective in their roles. If you're a manager or team leader, one of
your main responsibilities is motivating employees. Developing and implementing effective strategies for
encouraging your team can make a positive impact on the overall morale and productivity within the
company.

Why is it important to motivate employees?

Employee motivation is one of the main components of achieving company success. Making sure
employees are consistently feeling happy, fulfilled and motivated can mean better performance, higher
quality work and a greater likelihood that they want to stay with the company longer, which reduces the
employee turnover rate and ultimately saves money. Additionally, a higher level of motivation and
productivity means a quicker and more profitable business.

Strategies for motivating employees

1. Set attainable goals

Creating SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and time-bound) goals for employees is an
excellent motivational technique. These goals outline the criteria needed for attainable success, giving
employees something specific to strive for. When creating team-based SMART goals, identify each
employee's role in the objectives so they know exactly how and what they can contribute.

2. Provide immediate praise for accomplishments

While formal reviews are useful for giving detailed feedback, you can boost overall morale by providing
positive praise to other employees when they've done a great job on a project or completed an
assignment ahead of time. Employees often respond well to praise, which motivates them to continue
working hard.

Taking time to provide individuals with praise or recognition for their accomplishments lets them know
they're valuable to the company. It also provides them with positive reinforcement that what they're
doing is successful, leaving them with feelings of empowerment.

3. Create an employee incentive program

Another helpful strategy for improving employee motivation is creating an incentive program that
directly rewards team members for their accomplishments. The promise of an incentive not only
encourages employees to do their best work but also gives them something for which to strive. Raises
are big motivators for many, but employees also appreciate other incentives, like bonuses, paid time off,
trophies, gift cards and verbal recognition.

4. Ensure a healthy work-life balance

Maintaining a good work-life balance helps employees feel happier and more motivated within their
roles. Some ways you can ensure a healthy work-life balance include:
Encouraging breaks: Providing short breaks throughout the workday allows employees to rest. Feeling
refreshed can greatly reduce the chances of burnout and lead to higher employee satisfaction and
motivation.

Offering flexible scheduling: Allowing employees to take time off for routine appointments, like doctor's
visits, last-minute emergencies and self-care days helps employees feel more secure in their roles and
also more productive.

Providing work-from-home options: Employees who have the option to work remotely, even just one or
two days a week, may feel better about their work-life balance. Working from home eliminates
commute times and allows employees to work in environments that increase their productivity.

5. Create a positive work environment

A positive work environment supports enthusiasm, collaboration and motivation—all of which are vital
to the success of a company. When creating an ideal environment for employees, it's beneficial to strive
to be someone that you would want to work for.

In addition to starting every day with a good attitude, there are several techniques you can employ to
ensure a healthy work environment for employees, including:

Encouraging autonomy: Most employees are capable of managing their schedules and completing their
tasks. When you give them the freedom to use their time as they deem fit, they tend to feel happier and
more motivated.

Inspiring creativity and innovation: Empowering employees to create innovative solutions often gives
them a greater sense of accomplishment than if they were to follow a standard process. Encouraging
intrapreneurship within the workplace has many advantages, with increased motivation being one of
them.

Celebrating both professional and personal milestones: Whether an employee has just completed a
difficult project or celebrated a birthday, acknowledging these events is a good practice.

6. Encourage an open-door policy within the workplace

How you interact with and respond to your team members on a day-to-day basis has a direct effect on
motivation and productivity levels. Providing an open line of communication for team members to freely
express questions, thoughts and concerns enable them to feel more comfortable and secure in their
roles. It shows that you care about their opinions and are invested in their input.

7. Provide opportunities for career development and advancement

Employees who know they can advance in their current career path are more likely to feel productive.
Making sure that employee growth and continued learning are priorities within the organization for
which you work can create a positive work culture. Offering free on-the-job training and certification
courses are a great way to keep employees feeling motivated, excited and happy about their work.
8. Promote team collaboration

It's beneficial for employees to feel a sense of teamwork and collaboration since employees typically
spend about 40 hours a week interacting with one another. A few methods to promote team
collaboration are:

Planning team-bonding activities: Not only do team-building activities offer a fun break from your day-
to-day routine, but they're an excellent way to motivate employees. Whether you opt for weekly happy
hours or the occasional game night, these can help strengthen communication skills, improve problem-
solving abilities and increase overall morale.

Teaching conflict-management skills: Offering training on conflict management can help employees
resolve challenges within their teams effectively. This can help team members communicate more
openly, increasing collaboration and group productivity.

9. Offer mentorship opportunities

Providing mentorship opportunities can motivate employees to perform their jobs at a higher level.
Offering opportunities like one-on-one coaching and mentoring within a small group setting can inspire
employees to ask questions and set more advanced goals that may encourage them to work harder and
continue learning and growing within their careers.

10. Build trust within the team

Showing your team members that you trust them to perform their jobs well can help foster a better
sense of responsibility. Giving this trust to your colleagues can encourage them to offer you the same
respect and may motivate them to meet your expectations. One way to promote trust as a manager is
to offer more independence to team members.

11. Learn more about individuals

Learning more about each individual on the team can help you understand what challenges they may
encounter and what their strengths are. To learn more about team members, consider playing
icebreaker games and having one-on-one discussions to learn about their goals and personality. This can
help you strategize how to motivate each individual.

12. Offer help with individual goals

Instead of focusing solely on team goals, it's helpful to also encourage your colleagues to pursue their
own professional goals. Showing members of the team you lead that you care about their personal goals
can help empower them for success. They also may become more productive and effective in their role
as they work to achieve their goals.
 In conclusion, providing frequent feedback can allow individuals to strategize for improvement. Offering
praise and constructive criticism can help employees feel valued and respected. If the company for
which you work has a consistent feedback and review schedule, it may motivate team members to strive
for exceptional performance so they can receive praise during their reviews.

References

zerzberg, F. (1968). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business
Review, 46(1), 53-62.

Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P. R., Mills, D. Q., & Walton, R. E. (1985). Human resource
management: A general manager's perspective. New York: Free Press.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human
behavior. New York: Plenum.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and
new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.