Introduction to the Importance of Employee Motivation

 Theories of Motivation in the IT sector.  Motivation is a state of mind, filled with energy and enthusiasm, which drives a person to work in a certain way to achieve desired goals. Motivation is a force which pushes people to work with a high level of commitment and focus, even if things are going against them. Motivation translates into a certain kind of human behaviour.  In short, motivation is the driving force behind human actions  (Munyewende et al., 2014). There are many different forces that guide and direct our motivations. It is important to ensure that every team member in an organization is motivated. Various psychologists have studied human behaviour and have formalized their findings in the form of various motivational theories. These motivational theories provide insights into the way people behave and what motivates them    (Ausloos and Pekalski, 2007). Motivation is a huge field of study. Psychologists have proposed many different theories of mo...

 Benefits and challenges of training and development. Benefits of training and development. Training and development act as a motivator for employees. This can be justified through motivational theories such as Hergberg’s two factor theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Hergberg’s two factor theory, training and development act as a motivator resulting in advancement and growth. Therefore, the theory suggests that when employees are motived, it leads to job satisfaction (Carson, 2005). Further, as per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Figure 01), training and development addresses physiological, social and fulfillment needs of an individual (Ganta, 2014). Induction training sessions meet physiological needs as they prepare employees to the job and familiarize them with their job roles. Trainings designed to enhance communication skills, public speaking and team cohesiveness meet social needs of the employees. Leadership programs to prepare highly skilled employees to thei...

Introduction and Application of McClelland’s Need Theory McClelland’s theory of needs is one such theory that explains this process of motivation by breaking down what and how needs are and how they have to be approached. David McClelland was an American Psychologist who developed his theory of needs or Achievement Theory of Motivation which revolves around three important aspects, namely, Achievement, Power, And Affiliation  (Manolopoulos, 2008). This theory was developed in the 1960s and McClelland points out that regardless of our age, sex, race, or culture, all of us possess one of these needs and are driven by it. This theory is also known as the Acquired Needs as McClelland put forth that the specific needs of an individual are acquired and shaped over time through the experiences he has had in life  (Wan F., Tan S. and Mohammad T. 2013) Psychologist David McClelland advocated the Need theory, also popular as Three Needs Theory. This motivational theory states that the n...

 Why The Happiness of Your Employees Matters and How You Can Encourage It. In today’s demanding economic climate, improving your employee engagement might not seem to be a top priority, but overlooking employee happiness will impact companies where it hurts – on the bottom line  (Blair, 2015). It is a well-known fact that happier people are better employees- those who are engaged with their jobs and colleagues work harder and smarter. Notwithstanding this, there are still individuals who are not engaged  (Blanchard and Stoner 2004). According to recent research by Gallup, there is a global employee engagement issue- the number of workers engaged worldwide has fallen to an all-time low of 13%. It seems like not that many people are emotionally and intellectually dedicated to their employer and organization, and a small number are actively disengaged. This means that they are likely to project resentment at work, which can sometimes manifest itself in covert activities, sab...

 Motivating the new generation.  Motivating employees is not a new concept in business–but measuring and maintaining employee happiness is. As a result, the associated technology for enterprises to capture this data and be able to leverage it has only recently started to make progress. The combination of enterprise resource planning and human capital management can help businesses gain the insights they need to understand this new generation in the workforce. Merging these two technologies allows business leaders to better serve their younger employees, as it allows organizations to access the data relating to worker satisfaction and engagement, which have traditionally been siloed in multiple systems. They are able to better understand what the younger generation expects and create a constant stream of interaction that provides the feedback they crave to genuinely address the needs and challenges of their employees   (Baard et al., 2004). The rise of the employee-experie...

A common reason diversity initiatives fail. Diversity and Inclusions efforts have gained momentum over the last few years, but 2020 saw an unprecedented acceleration in initiatives in the wake of highly publicized cases of racial injustice. Many would call the events of the last year a social and racial justice revolution. Companies are directing more investment to D&I training and publicly pledging their commitment to creating inclusive environments through the hiring of D&I practitioners and high-profile appointments of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers  (Candi et al., 2013). Yet as we reflect on the success of efforts over the last few years, and specifically over the last year of intense efforts, companies are still battling to report meaningful change. While the COVID pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing gender and racial inequalities, disproportionately affecting women of colour and mothers, even before the effects of the pandemic were evident, multicultural wom...