The greatest challenge to managers in this century is that of the ability of taking employees to their peak performance level or a flow situation where according to Bowen (2006) a “whole-person” experience is involved.
According to Vecchio (2006), the notion of flow or peak experience attempts to capture the ‘optimal experience of joy and creativity’ where every other thing grows pale in comparison to the activity on hand. The worker concerned is so engrossed with the assignment that the sharp edge of exertion is dulled by passion and not necessarily monetary rewards.
It is no gain-saying the fact that simplistically high motivation level naturally results in increased productivity. Consequently, managers are constrained to abandon their command-control approach for relationship. This has further been heightened with the rise of free agents who are continuously looking for avenues of improving their skills, competencies, reputation and marketability.
If one takes a high road approach, it is without equivocation the fact that the employees of the future are going to be complex beings requiring complex approaches to manage and motivate.
This hypothesis can be validated by considering the changing nature of workplace in terms of job content and context. The needs and preferences of employees are becoming so complex that the run- of -the- mill rewards system may be incapable of addressing with greater satisfaction.
Bowen (2006) has ably captured a few of the best practice programmes of motivating staff for mutually beneficial ends. These include:
• Base-pay packages
• Variable pay plans
• Incentives
• Cash and cash equivalents
• Benefits
• Gain-sharing plans
• Profit-sharing plans
• Commissions
• Stock options
• Alternative pay programs.
It should be noted that those programmes can only be classified as extrinsic awards because they attempt to recognise the employees by means of factors external to the work itself. Intrinsic rewards however can only be achieved through the nature of work and work climate or the context within which job is performed. At Adeshina Adeleke and company a combination of the above stated programmes are being deployed to motivate employees for increased productivity.
Adeshina Adeleke and company is a single-line firm specialising in providing property services in Nigeria. It operates in the real estate industry within the services sub- group and has a diverse workforce in terms of gender and ethnic groupings. It falls within the small and medium sized enterprises if one intends to go for further classification. The firm is not within the strategic group of the market leaders but falls within the group of fast followers.
It has a total employee strength of twenty two comprising of estate surveyors and valuers, facility management officers and support staffs. The salary package at the firm is not the best compared to those of the market leaders and members of its strategic group. Surprisingly however, employees are highly motivated probably due to socialisation that takes place at its workplace.
At Adeshina Adeleke and company, management is making efforts to introduce measures capable of reinforcing the present productive behaviour of the workforce such that resistance to extinction is increased. The approach adopted is the holistic approach that addresses both the extrinsic and intrinsic needs of the employees, job contents and context. Some of the measures being introduced include the following:
1. Purchase of new official cars to line managers – The policy before now was to provide official cars to only members of the top management while others make do with pool cars. However the company has started acquiring brand new cars for line managers partly for work effectiveness and to engender a feeling of recognition and prestige.
Thus part of the growth needs as conceptualised by Abraham Maslow and the hygiene factors as conceptualised by Herzberger is being addressed by this singular act. In a country where there is a failure of social policy in the area of transportation, this act can serve both as a motivator and hygiene factor.
Workers face hardship in getting to work and performing official function because public transport is either no there or ineffective. Also as part of our national culture, it is a thing of joy and worthy of celebration when a worker is given an official car in a country where university graduates cannot afford a new car even after five years of cognate experience.
2. Staff Health Insurance Scheme – Although staff pay packages provide for health allowances according to levels in the organisation, management of the firm is in the process of buying health insurance for staff in addition. This no doubt will put pressure on the firm’s resources, it is a laudable measure to improve their job context. Health they say is wealth.
This gesture will go a long way to ensure that staff are not demotivated especially with the stark reality collapsing public health system and increasing health bills. To some folks in the country, it is cheaper to die than to leave. The health insurance scheme therefore will grant the staff access to timely and good medical consultation and treatment in contradistinction to what is obtainable in public hospitals.
3. Performance related rewards – Management has recently divided the workforce into teams with performance targets. The team members have been informed that future rewards including Christmas bonuses and leave allowances would be performance related. The rewards are no longer issues of rights except within performance framework. The national culture and workers psyche is that these allowances are rights but not priviledges.
4. Staff ceremony gifts – As part of the socialisation that takes place in the organisation, management has graciously approved a sum of money as ceremony allowances to be given to staff on their birthdays, marriages and when they give birth. Such allowance although a token addresses part of the deficiency needs as conceptualised by Abraham Maslow.
5. Job Enlargement/Enrichment – Line managers are now being saddled with some human resource responsibilities which before now was exclusive preserve of the Human Resource functions. These include discipline, leave approval, and sometimes staff recruitment especially professional and technical staffs.
6. Monthly strategic forum – After management has identified areas of weakness and opportunities, research topics are assigned to teams for presentation at the monthly strategic forum. The forum provides opportunity for learning and peer review leading to task maturity and a heightened expectation that exertion of efforts will lead to performance.
7. Training – Adeshina Adeleke and company is a learning organisation. It has devoted measurable resources for both on -site and off-site training.
It will require a research effort to ascertain the relative contributions of the measures described above to the motivation level and productivity at Adeshina Adeleke and company. However the combined effect of the measure has lead to the workforce unleashing a new passion and energy level to work assignments and roles. Intrapreneurship and healthy competition can be deciphered among teams and team members.
The resulting work climate is such that management now rules by exception as peer pressure provides positive and negative reinforcements amongst team members. In terms of bottom-line, numbers are getting better in comparative terms although much still needs to be done if the result from the variance analysis is considered.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Bowen, Brayton, R. (2006) “Making Recognition and Rewards a “Whole- Person” Experience”. In Business The Ultimate Resource, 2nd Ed,Basic Books ( A Member of Perseus Books Group).
2. Vecchio, R.P (2006). Organizational Behaviour: Core Concepts. 6th Ed, Thomson South- Western.
Emmanuel Ibukun Efuntayo – is an accomplished real estate professional, and Principal Consultant of Ibukun Efuntayo & Co., a highly reputable firm of Estate Surveyors and Valuers specialised in providing expert – personalised – Estate Consultancy, Facility Management, Project Management, Property Development and Valuation services to clients.
With more than a decade of post-qualification experience, gained from working in the past, with companies like NNPC and Eko International Bank (now EIB International Bank), Emmanuel leads an efficient team of real estate experts recognised for delivering good quality, prompt and courteous services to clients
