Improving Employee Performance Through Effective Motivation

By Ann G. Depta

My dictionary defines motivation as "the act or process of furnishing with an incentive or inducement to action." No doubt most managers would be gratified to see that their employees are motivated to act. However, the experts say that nobody can motivate somebody else. So the operative words here are "incentive" and inducement to action.

How do we "furnish" this incentive? A manager can provide the environment and other factors that will enable people to become motivated. And knowing what causes another person to become motivated is basic to establishing and maintaining effective relationships with others. In fact, it is absolutely fundamental to the practice of management-the art of getting things done through others.

Although becoming a good manager and motivating people is something for which there is no formula, the following 18 suggestions will help a manager encourage employees to perform better.

  1. Use appropriate methods of reinforcement. People will repeat behaviors that you have rewarded and reinforced. This is the key to human motivation, and by using reinforcement appropriately, you can significantly increase motivation. Appropriate reinforcement includes the following:
    • Reinforcement is personal; what reinforces one person may not reinforce another.
    • Provide reinforcers as soon as possible after the desired performance occurs. Employees will then associate the reinforcer with the positive performance.
    • Rewards should always be contingent on performance; don't give rewards when they aren't earned.
    • Don't give too much reinforcement; too much is almost as bad as none at all.
  2. Give feedback on behavior, not the person. Negative feedback on performance should never focus on the performer as an individual. A person can do a task poorly and still be a valuable employee. Too many people are labeled "incompetent" or "unqualified." These kinds of judgmental labels frequently lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  3. Make sure that accomplishment is recognized. Most human beings need to be recognized, but employees' accomplishments frequently seem to get lost, especially in larger organizations. People need to feel important regardless of their position.
  4. Encourage employees to set their own goals. Personal goal setting results in a positive commitment to goal accomplishment. Frequently, their goals will be more challenging than ones you might have dictated to them.
  5. Clarify your expectations and make sure that employees understand them. People have very different "maps of the world." We know what we mean when we say something but often others do not. Unclear expectations can result in a decrease in motivation and an increase in frustration. In order to help others become more motivated, you must let them know what you expect them to do.
  6. Provide immediate, relevant feedback that will help employees improve their performance in the future. Feedback is most effective when it follow performance. It should be relevant to the task and should provide employees with information on how they might improve their performance. Don't give negative feedback without providing informational feedback.
  7. Provide employees with flexibility and choice. Whenever possible allow your employees to make decisions. Choice and the personal commitment that accompanies it are essential to motivation. People who aren't given the opportunity to choose for themselves tend to become lethargic.
  8. Show confidence in your employees. The "self-fulfilling prophecy" is one of the most significant features of effective motivation. There is a great deal of research that supports the idea that people who are expected to achieve will do so more frequently than others.
  9. Establish a climate of trust and open communication. Motivation is highest in organizations which encourage openness and trust. Threat is one of the greatest obstacles to individual motivation, and it must be eliminated. Remember that a "win-win" approach is the most effective way to enhance the self-esteem of your employee.
  10. Demonstrate interest in each individual under your supervision. People need to feel important and personally significant. Take time to get to know each person individually. Learn about their families; find out about their leisure activities. This personal concern will pay off in increased productivity. In addition, personal knowledge of employees will provide clues to determine what methods you can use to reinforce behavior.
  11. Individualize your supervision. People require different supervisory approaches. In order to enhance individual motivation, you must treat people as individuals. Some people need closer supervision than others, and some people don't need much supervision at all.
  12. Encourage individuals to participate in making decisions that affect them. Nothing tends to diminish motivation like a feeling of powerlessness. People who feel that they have no control over their destiny become passive, viewing the "locus of control" of their lives as outside themselves.
  13. Listen to and deal with employee complaints. Problems can often greatly reduce productivity when they are not dealt with. It is important to handle problems and complaints before they get blown out of proportion. People feel more significant when their complaints are taken seriously; nothing hurts more than others viewing a personal problem as trivial.
  14. Point out improvement in performance, no matter how small. This is particularly important when employees are beginning work on new tasks. The need to reinforce frequently during the early stages of learning is well known. In getting employees to improve performance, frequent encouragement can be useful; however, it should be reduced as the employee becomes more skilled and confident.
  15. Encourage employees to participate in challenging assignments. Research shows that there is a need for both novelty and challenge in order to develop feelings of satisfaction. Managers can provide employees with opportunities to try new things and assign tasks that are increasingly more difficult.
  16. Anxiety is fundamental, so don't eliminate it completely. There is a common misconception that all anxiety is bad. But research shows that moderate levels of anxiety increase motivation. That's why some of the best work sometimes gets done under pressure of time. If you have taken the time to know your employees well, you can determine the optimal level of anxiety for each individual. The total elimination of task anxiety can result in lethargy, while high anxiety can result in disorientation.
  17. Pay attention to both short-term and long-term motivation. Sometimes rewards and incentives are so remote in time that their motivational impact is lessened. People should be given short-term, as well as long-term reinforcement. Employees who receive only short-term reinforcement and incentives tend to fall short of the highest levels of motivation; they lack a long-term perspective on their jobs.
  18. Develop your group into a cohesive team. Being part of a high performing team is one of the most effective motivators of all. If the manager has taken the steps to build a strong team, most employees want to do a good job for the benefit of the whole group and do not want to let the team down.

Adapted from material by Dean R. Spitzer