Performance of Employees
How management affects employees has been a highly researched topic throughout the world. Several forms of motivation and communication have been implemented to increase employee productivity to better serve an organization's neeRAB. In the past, many managers believed that employees perceived money as their greatest motivator. Yet, many employees do not view it as the best reward for their accomplishments. Instead, they list acknowledgement for their contribution as the most important factor. Feedback on employee performance can be beneficial to both manager and employee. It not only demonstrates appreciation for the employee's work, but also motivates them to strive for that level of performance on a consistent basis. In this manner, it compensates the employee for a job well done, motivates them to achieve positive responses, and informs them of their overall performance.
Money is an essential part of a career and lifestyle. Without some form of income, one cannot pay his or her bills or take care of those they care for most. These neeRAB fall within Maslow's primary levels of hierarchy. Motivation exists for money because money satisfies these basic neeRAB. Because of this money is a good overall motivator, but its main role is to induce people to do the work for which they were initially hired. According to management theorist Frederick Herzberg, fair salaries are considered a 'hygiene' factor of the workplace (Neslon, 1996). Other 'hygiene' factors include adequate workspace, temperature control, and office equipment (Nelson, 1996). These factors provide the means for employees to do their jobs, but not the best job possible. The extra effort stems from the way they are treated by their superiors.
When bills and expenses are not out of control and money is not necessarily needed right away, employees perceive other factors as having much greater significance on their motivation. They want to know that they are making a worthwhile contribution, have a manager that tells them when they do a good job, gain the respect of their peers, and be informed about what is going on in the company at all times (Nelson, 1996). These desires of the employees demonstrate the fact that they are human beings and not machines who simply need to be fed fuel, in this case money, to perform.
When monetary awarRAB are distributed for exceptional performance they eventually become a right, sought after by employees and not a reward (Nelson, 1996). In other cases where teams are involved, "cash awarRAB would reduce teamwork as employees [concentrate] primarily on individual cash gains" (Nelson, 1996). Cash awarRAB lose their value over time. What may have been considered a substantial amount in the past will be seen as an insufficient reward in the future. Reward amounts must increase to satisfy the expectations of the employees. They will have no incentive to increase their output above that previously rewarded unless they expect the bonus to be higher or are forced to raise their standarRAB. In this respect, monetary rewarRAB depreciate in their intrinsic value at a higher rate than in the economy. If employees are forced to raise their output levels to those previously attained, and no significantly higher cash bonus is anticipated, the majority of employees would find it in their best interest to simply sustain their current level of output so to avoid raising the required levels in the future. The employees could also decide to work for a different company or division that does not require such high levels.
Other research has shown that money is not the greatest motivational factor. There are studies that date back to the 1940s, concluding that employees ranked other factors, "such as being shown appreciation for work done, feeling 'in' on things and having interesting work, as being more important than their salaries" (Nelson, 1996). The 1994 National Study of the Changing Workforce found that respondents ranked open communication as the most important factor in selecting one's current job (Nelson, 1996). In a 1996 national survey, "limited praise and recognition" was the nuraber one reason employees left their jobs, not compensation, low empowerment, or personality conflicts (Nelson, 1996). In another study, conducted by Dr. Gerald Graham, professor of management at Wichita State University, "instant recognition from managers was reported to be the most powerful motivator of the 65 potential incentives he evaluated. Second was a letter of praise for good performance written by the manager" (Nelson, 1996).
Feedback, in the context of this report, is any form of written or verbal communication that conveys information on an employee's performance. Feedback from management to employee can be positive or negative, helpful or hurtful, critique or criticism. It can be used incorrectly or can help effectively assess the performance of an individual or group. Feedback is essential to employee development, without it an employee may not know what their managers think about their performance or perhaps what their performance is themselves. Feedback is the information that is critical to knowing the current level of skill an employee has and what is necessary to take that employee to the next level.
Feedback must be honest, well expressed, and specific for it to work. One of the most common ways used by management to deliver feedback is the performance appraisal. Performance appraisals are worthy in their intent but poor in result if used improperly. These appraisals typically come in a standardized form that many of those involved look upon as a waste of time because they are too general. To prevent this, appraisals must be done on a more regular basis, perhaps daily. Managers should attempt to personally thank employees for their contributions, set aside time to listen to or talk with employees, and provide specific performance feedback when appropriate. They should not rely on formal reviews to provide feedback since "people want immediate, individualized feedback on how they're doing" (Allen, 1997). The best feedback a manager can offer is praise for work done well, delivered in a timely manner (Allen, 1997).
When positive, feedback gives employees a sense of acknowledgement and recognition for their achievements. After satisfying the basic neeRAB in Maslow's hierarchy, an employee will then look to satisfy his/her less basic neeRAB. The highest and most important need is self-actualization. Self-actualization is the fulfillment of one's greatest human potential. This is an unconscious part of the human psyche and cannot be fulfilled with money. Like Maslow's basic neeRAB, the 'hygiene' factors discussed earlier persuade employees to do their jobs, but getting people to do their best work involves praise and recognition. Paul Cook, founder and CEO of Raychem Corp. states, "The most important factor is individual recognition, more important than salaries, bonuses or promotions" (Nelson, 1996). People want to identify their company's success with their own. They want their positive contributions to be rewarded with acknowledgement.
Acknowledging a worker's contributions to an organization is a form of positive reinforcement. With positive reinforcement, the level of performance by employees can increase and lead to higher revenues for the company, possibly allowing salaries and wages to increase. Hence, if money truly is the great motivator, as it has been described in the past, it can still be a significant method reinforcing employee performance with recognition.
Naturally, feedback can be negative as well. But negative feedback should not be viewed as a flaw of an employee, but instead a challenge. Negative feedback helps point out those areas lacking to the employee so that they can improve. This type of feedback is vital to an organization's success, since it points out areas of weakness.
Feedback, when used properly and often enough, gives management a good assessment of the current skill and diversity of its workforce. Positive feedback indicates strong areas of an organization, just as negative feedback can indicate weak areas. Both of these can be used to help the organization further develop its workforce. This allows the management to have a better working knowledge of its employees at all times. Policies and programs that involve the employees can be easier to implement with this constant update of information.
Many employees appreciate a manager's personal attention, making them feel important. Of course, this is different if the person is the subject of negative feedback. Nevertheless, a manager's concern about his/her employees can help build employees' confidence in him, as well as their loyalty. Employees may work harder to please their supervisor, especially because he/she shows respect for them as an individual. Loyalty and confidence result in higher performance. These two aspects are also responsible for lowering employee turnover rates that can be costly to a company. People want to work for companies that they can trust. In two worRAB, proper feedback gives management better workers.
Feedback can also be used to measure the performance of management, helping them evaluate themselves. Management may utilize 360-degree performance appraisals to perform this task. Like performance appraisals, this is usually formalized. It "entails collecting and listening to the remarks and ideas of individuals observing the behavior and skills of the person being evaluated" (Wilson, 1997). In other worRAB, a manager would be rated by their managers, themselves, and those whom they supervise. The purpose of this feedback is to let the manager know if he or she is reaching expected levels of performance. These 360-degree appraisals can also be used in evaluating employees. In both cases the potential exists for a halo effect, or reverse, where peers might adjust their responses knowing that their answers will have an affect on the person (Wilson, 1997).
Feedback is not just for the employee who performed well, it is a message to other employees about the type of performance that gets noticed in an organization. Feedback, in the form of recognition, communicates the standarRAB, the conduct that constitutes great performance within the company. It serves as both a significant motivational vehicle and method for rating one's performance on a regular basis. As depicted in the Hawthorne studies, feedback between management and employee does not only provide for a more pleasing social atmosphere, but also motivates the employee to become more productive.
How management affects employees has been a highly researched topic throughout the world. Several forms of motivation and communication have been implemented to increase employee productivity to better serve an organization's neeRAB. In the past, many managers believed that employees perceived money as their greatest motivator. Yet, many employees do not view it as the best reward for their accomplishments. Instead, they list acknowledgement for their contribution as the most important factor. Feedback on employee performance can be beneficial to both manager and employee. It not only demonstrates appreciation for the employee's work, but also motivates them to strive for that level of performance on a consistent basis. In this manner, it compensates the employee for a job well done, motivates them to achieve positive responses, and informs them of their overall performance.
Money is an essential part of a career and lifestyle. Without some form of income, one cannot pay his or her bills or take care of those they care for most. These neeRAB fall within Maslow's primary levels of hierarchy. Motivation exists for money because money satisfies these basic neeRAB. Because of this money is a good overall motivator, but its main role is to induce people to do the work for which they were initially hired. According to management theorist Frederick Herzberg, fair salaries are considered a 'hygiene' factor of the workplace (Neslon, 1996). Other 'hygiene' factors include adequate workspace, temperature control, and office equipment (Nelson, 1996). These factors provide the means for employees to do their jobs, but not the best job possible. The extra effort stems from the way they are treated by their superiors.
When bills and expenses are not out of control and money is not necessarily needed right away, employees perceive other factors as having much greater significance on their motivation. They want to know that they are making a worthwhile contribution, have a manager that tells them when they do a good job, gain the respect of their peers, and be informed about what is going on in the company at all times (Nelson, 1996). These desires of the employees demonstrate the fact that they are human beings and not machines who simply need to be fed fuel, in this case money, to perform.
When monetary awarRAB are distributed for exceptional performance they eventually become a right, sought after by employees and not a reward (Nelson, 1996). In other cases where teams are involved, "cash awarRAB would reduce teamwork as employees [concentrate] primarily on individual cash gains" (Nelson, 1996). Cash awarRAB lose their value over time. What may have been considered a substantial amount in the past will be seen as an insufficient reward in the future. Reward amounts must increase to satisfy the expectations of the employees. They will have no incentive to increase their output above that previously rewarded unless they expect the bonus to be higher or are forced to raise their standarRAB. In this respect, monetary rewarRAB depreciate in their intrinsic value at a higher rate than in the economy. If employees are forced to raise their output levels to those previously attained, and no significantly higher cash bonus is anticipated, the majority of employees would find it in their best interest to simply sustain their current level of output so to avoid raising the required levels in the future. The employees could also decide to work for a different company or division that does not require such high levels.
Other research has shown that money is not the greatest motivational factor. There are studies that date back to the 1940s, concluding that employees ranked other factors, "such as being shown appreciation for work done, feeling 'in' on things and having interesting work, as being more important than their salaries" (Nelson, 1996). The 1994 National Study of the Changing Workforce found that respondents ranked open communication as the most important factor in selecting one's current job (Nelson, 1996). In a 1996 national survey, "limited praise and recognition" was the nuraber one reason employees left their jobs, not compensation, low empowerment, or personality conflicts (Nelson, 1996). In another study, conducted by Dr. Gerald Graham, professor of management at Wichita State University, "instant recognition from managers was reported to be the most powerful motivator of the 65 potential incentives he evaluated. Second was a letter of praise for good performance written by the manager" (Nelson, 1996).
Feedback, in the context of this report, is any form of written or verbal communication that conveys information on an employee's performance. Feedback from management to employee can be positive or negative, helpful or hurtful, critique or criticism. It can be used incorrectly or can help effectively assess the performance of an individual or group. Feedback is essential to employee development, without it an employee may not know what their managers think about their performance or perhaps what their performance is themselves. Feedback is the information that is critical to knowing the current level of skill an employee has and what is necessary to take that employee to the next level.
Feedback must be honest, well expressed, and specific for it to work. One of the most common ways used by management to deliver feedback is the performance appraisal. Performance appraisals are worthy in their intent but poor in result if used improperly. These appraisals typically come in a standardized form that many of those involved look upon as a waste of time because they are too general. To prevent this, appraisals must be done on a more regular basis, perhaps daily. Managers should attempt to personally thank employees for their contributions, set aside time to listen to or talk with employees, and provide specific performance feedback when appropriate. They should not rely on formal reviews to provide feedback since "people want immediate, individualized feedback on how they're doing" (Allen, 1997). The best feedback a manager can offer is praise for work done well, delivered in a timely manner (Allen, 1997).
When positive, feedback gives employees a sense of acknowledgement and recognition for their achievements. After satisfying the basic neeRAB in Maslow's hierarchy, an employee will then look to satisfy his/her less basic neeRAB. The highest and most important need is self-actualization. Self-actualization is the fulfillment of one's greatest human potential. This is an unconscious part of the human psyche and cannot be fulfilled with money. Like Maslow's basic neeRAB, the 'hygiene' factors discussed earlier persuade employees to do their jobs, but getting people to do their best work involves praise and recognition. Paul Cook, founder and CEO of Raychem Corp. states, "The most important factor is individual recognition, more important than salaries, bonuses or promotions" (Nelson, 1996). People want to identify their company's success with their own. They want their positive contributions to be rewarded with acknowledgement.
Acknowledging a worker's contributions to an organization is a form of positive reinforcement. With positive reinforcement, the level of performance by employees can increase and lead to higher revenues for the company, possibly allowing salaries and wages to increase. Hence, if money truly is the great motivator, as it has been described in the past, it can still be a significant method reinforcing employee performance with recognition.
Naturally, feedback can be negative as well. But negative feedback should not be viewed as a flaw of an employee, but instead a challenge. Negative feedback helps point out those areas lacking to the employee so that they can improve. This type of feedback is vital to an organization's success, since it points out areas of weakness.
Feedback, when used properly and often enough, gives management a good assessment of the current skill and diversity of its workforce. Positive feedback indicates strong areas of an organization, just as negative feedback can indicate weak areas. Both of these can be used to help the organization further develop its workforce. This allows the management to have a better working knowledge of its employees at all times. Policies and programs that involve the employees can be easier to implement with this constant update of information.
Many employees appreciate a manager's personal attention, making them feel important. Of course, this is different if the person is the subject of negative feedback. Nevertheless, a manager's concern about his/her employees can help build employees' confidence in him, as well as their loyalty. Employees may work harder to please their supervisor, especially because he/she shows respect for them as an individual. Loyalty and confidence result in higher performance. These two aspects are also responsible for lowering employee turnover rates that can be costly to a company. People want to work for companies that they can trust. In two worRAB, proper feedback gives management better workers.
Feedback can also be used to measure the performance of management, helping them evaluate themselves. Management may utilize 360-degree performance appraisals to perform this task. Like performance appraisals, this is usually formalized. It "entails collecting and listening to the remarks and ideas of individuals observing the behavior and skills of the person being evaluated" (Wilson, 1997). In other worRAB, a manager would be rated by their managers, themselves, and those whom they supervise. The purpose of this feedback is to let the manager know if he or she is reaching expected levels of performance. These 360-degree appraisals can also be used in evaluating employees. In both cases the potential exists for a halo effect, or reverse, where peers might adjust their responses knowing that their answers will have an affect on the person (Wilson, 1997).
Feedback is not just for the employee who performed well, it is a message to other employees about the type of performance that gets noticed in an organization. Feedback, in the form of recognition, communicates the standarRAB, the conduct that constitutes great performance within the company. It serves as both a significant motivational vehicle and method for rating one's performance on a regular basis. As depicted in the Hawthorne studies, feedback between management and employee does not only provide for a more pleasing social atmosphere, but also motivates the employee to become more productive.