- Respond to the two disucssion posts below and provide more information than simply agreeing or disagreeing. It is important to state the reasons why you agree or disagree.
- You may compare to my discussion post attached.
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Motivation is a psychological process unique to each employee that each manager must deal with and perceive to bring out the best in that employee and achieve the goals of the company. An underperforming employee may fail for a variety of reasons, including personal or contextual factors. To determine the process of motivating an underperforming employee, I must first analyze its personality, then hold a meeting to focus on the root cause of the problem and what is preventing this employee from performing as expected. Once the problem has been identified, take the following steps.
1. Keep lines of communication open between both of us by holding “one-to-one meetings” to address questions and provide an environment for discussion.
2. I would share my thoughts on its progress and suggest ways to help a better performance. Employee mistakes can occasionally be attributed to a lack of comprehension or clarity.
3. After achieving our well-defined short- or medium-term objectives, we would assess them jointly.
4. Opportunities for the employee to develop new skills or improve existing ones through company-sponsored courses or training if possible.
5. Lastly, depending on the circumstance, I would utilize a reward system each time I see this employee’s efficiency increasing or improving. I might do this in private or during public meetings. Some employers even provide gift cards, checks for groceries, or cash bonuses.
Source:
Kinicki, Williams. Management: A Practical Introduction. Mcgraw-Hill, 2003
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There are many different ways to motivate an employee, but I think I would chose an outside the box approach to motivating underperforming employees. I would base my motivating approach on the Herzberg Two Factor Theory which says job satisfaction/dissatisfaction arise from two factors: motivating (satisfying) and hygiene (dissatisfying) factors according to our class textbook, Management by McGrawHill (178). With this in mind, I would use something called gamification. Gamification is using game mechanics and elements to inspire and motivate engagement with content. Gamification uses goals, status levels, tricks and puzzles or rewards to motivate (Andreev 1). Some examples could be instituting employees of the month, holding parties if certain goals are met between all employees or giving raffles entries to a giveaway by reaching certain goals. Employees that are satisfied with their job according to the Herzberg Theory want achievement, recognition and advancement (McGrawHill 178). By being able to make work feel more rewarding, engaging, fun and accomplishing, it can make workers feel more motivated to complete goals and reach an end result. Gamification is said to bring the following benefits to an organization: establish learning culture, find and fix knowledge gaps, energize boring training programs, make learning fun and creative, connect with employees and promote team building, and establish and spread positive employer branding (Andreev 1). I think that gamification is something not really mentioned and utilized but could be used to retain and motivate employees across the whole organization.
Sources: https://www.valamis.com/hub/gamificationLinks to an external site.