Week 2 - Improving Staff Performance

http://ezinearticles.com/?Motivation-Theory&id=410700
The content theories of motivation are the ones that focus mainly on factors that have a direct effect on human behaviour. Content theories include those of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, Alderfer’s ERG theory and Herzeberg’s motivator-hygiene theory.

Process theories on the other hand, focus on the thought processes that influence behaviour and give the opportunity to understand how this has an effect on the individual’s behaviour. The most popular process theories are Vroom’s expectancy theory, goal-setting theory and reinforcement theory as well as Adams’ equity theory.

John Lewis has always been well known in providing its employees with many rewards and opportunities. This is the main reason that the employees are motivated and continue to provide John Lewis with the best possible customer service. John Lewis has developed The Partnership. This is what they call the relationship between themselves and the employees. One of the ways that they use this relationship to their advantage and use it to motivate their employees is that they put the happiness of the employees at the centre of everything they do. They use many techniques to bring out the best in an individual such as fulfilling the employee’s needs and by rewarding them. John Lewis do this differently because the ‘Partners’ are actually active co-workers in the business which means that they do therefore receive their share of the profit that is made. The relationship between the employers and employees at John Lewis one of respect and honesty and this is reflected in the outstanding level of customer service that they provide. The profit-sharing scheme that John Lewis has adopted is one of the main reasons why employees are so motivated. The extra money is motivating them to improve their performance and help to make the business more successful so they achieve a better reward when the profit is turned in.

http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/2029/23/320/3

Chris Charman who is a senior consultant in executive compensation and rewards says: "You can see it when you walk in the door, with [workers'] level of product knowledge and service. Even in terms of its procurement and wastage, [staff] will [realise the] impact on the bottom line." He believes that the John Lewis Partnership is an ideal type of organisation to be using profit-sharing because it allows front-line retail staff to see the impact that they have on the business and its profitability.

Many of the way in which John Lewis motivates their employees fit into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The employees are satisfied with their basic needs and are also provided with safety and protection at their workplace because John Lewis ensures its working conditions are suitable for all employees. The social needs such as a sense of belonging and love are also fulfilled by those at John Lewis because they firmly believe that by building honest and reliable relationships with each other, motivation is increased and therefore performance is higher. Due to the profit-sharing scheme, John Lewis employees should feel that their self-esteem needs are being met as well because they can see that their effort is resulting in a profitable business and this profit is being distributed between the employees so they can feel that they have a status in the business and feel recognised. The point of self-actualisation may not be clearly displayed for all John Lewis employees as many may feel that they have a lot more to provide the business and this would most probably be used by John Lewis to their advantage to carry on motivating their employees so that they continue to perform to the best of their ability.

Another business that gives its employees many benefits to keep them motivated and working to the best of their ability is British Airways. BAA believes that it benefits from an unusually low turnover of staff because they believe they are a good employer. Some of the benefits that the employees receive are:

1) Competitive salaries.

2) Profit share target of £700. This is similar to what John Lewis does and therefore it has the same benefits to the employees in the sense that it keeps them motivated to work harder so that they receive a better rewards if they keep the business profitable.

3) High value share save scheme. This is beneficial to employees because it makes them feel that they are an important part of the business and they own a share in the business so they are more likely to keep their performance levels high.

4) Generous final salary pension scheme. This is a good technique of keeping employees motivated because everyone is always concerned about what their financial situation will be when they retire so if they are offered a generous pension, they are more likely to stay in that job for their personal security in the future.

5) Free car parking at all airports.

6) Preferential insurance rates.

7) Flexible working.

8) Competitive sick pay.

http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/baa/baa20.htm

Motivation is one of the main ways in which the performance of the employees is maintained. There are many techniques that can be used to motivate employees in real work places and this can be seen with both John Lewis and BAA.