DQ7-1

DQ7-1 Responses

1.

What are some of the ways to engage employee to improve their performance?

2.

Compensation plans have a huge effect on employee motivation.  Compensation plans are usually one of the top reasons employees stay at their jobs and are motivated to do their job.  From a survey from Glassdoor in 2015 60 % of people survey said that benefits were a major factor of whether they would take the job or not. 80 % said they would take additional benefits over a pay raise (Jones, 2017).  If companies want to attract top talent they need to take a serious look at their benefit packages.  The benefits that rates the highest were affordable healthcare, flexibility in work schedule and better work life balance.  When employees are given good benefits and perks they are more motivated to do the job, produce more and are happier.  Employees want to work for companies who truly care about them and their overall wellbeing.   From experience I have declined job offers based on employee benefits.  I love to vacation so one week off a year of paid time off does not work for me.  There are so many companies now that are offering unique and out of the box benefits.

One company that attracts top talent due to their employee benefits is Google. Google is a well-known company for its employee’s benefits offering free gourmet meals and snacks for all of its employees, they offer new parent leave, and they can bring their dog to work.  Google offers free rides to and from work.  They offer massage credits to cash in for massages.  They give time off for employees to explore their passions.  They believe in the 80/20 rule which is 80 percent to your job but 20 percent on something that excites you and will help the company grow. Google contributes up to 50% into employees 401K.   They offer free fitness classes and they can drink alcohol in the office on Fridays. (D’onfron & England, 2018). 

 

D’onfron, J. & England, L. (2018 August). An Inside Look at Googles Best Perks. Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/business-insider/best-google-benefits.html

 

Jones, K. (2017, February 15).The Most Desirable Employee Benefits. The Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2017/02/the-most-desirable-employee-benefits

3.

Motivation is an internal drive resulting in changes in behavior that can affect the achievement of organizational goals (Gelard, 2016).  According to a 2002, study conducted by Susan Linz, compensation is the most important factor of job motivation.  Remarkably, 46% of the employees studied were still motivated and satisfied with their job due to other factors despite being dissatisfied with their income (Linz, 2002).  These non monetary factors include being  treated with respect, a work/life balance, challenging work, and quality co-workers and leadership (Gerlard, 2015).  In order to achieve an organization’s strategic goals, managers must have a comprehensive picture of their employees’ job satisfaction values through assessment of factors to prioritize the factors which affect job motivation within each organization (Gelard, 2016). Through understanding of these factors and their importance to the specific organization, leaders can help creative employees’ talents flourish and meet the organizational goals.   Another study of 500 employees found direct links between flexibility, challenging work, and creative opportunities to an employee’s level of commitment to the organization (Garr, 2015).

For example, a millennial in the workforce today will only stay with an organization for 2.8 years on average compared with an employee ages 45-54 whose average tenure at a job is 7.9 years (Brennan, 2017).  Research has found that high job satisfaction increases millennial commitment to an organization (Brennan, 2017).  While millennials value monetary compensation, exciting challenges, a good work/life balance, the ability to telecommute, and parental leave policies increase their commitment to the organization and job satisfaction dramatically (Brennan, 2017).  Employers should understand that both financial and non monetary factors affect employee satisfaction in addition to the work environment and opportunities for growth.  The more satisfied an employee is with the organization, the less turn over and better pofits duet to avoidance of frequent job searches, training costs, and increased efficiency in the workforce.

  

References:

Brennan, J. (2017, March 09) Employee Benefits: Millennials Push Employers to Rethink Office Perks. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://www.reportlinker.com/insight/office-perks.html

Garr, J. (2015, February 19). Financial And Non Financial Factors Influencing Employee Morale. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://www.hrknowledge.com/financial-and-non-financial-factors-influencing-employee-morale/

Gelard,Parvaneh. (2016). The Relationship between Job Motivation, Compensation Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction in Employees of Tax Administration – A Case Study in Tehran. JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH IN SCIENCE (ISSN 2322-5009) CODEN (USA): JCRSDJ. 12. 10.5539/ass.v12n2p165.

Linz, S. J. (2003). Job satisfaction among Russian Workers. International Journal of Manpower, 24(6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437720310496139