'Carrot or Stick approach doesn’t work anymore'

If an employee works for your company for the following reason "I am in this job because I have no other option or just for the money", understand how an employer can assist an employee to alter this statement to something more positive like - "I love what I do."

Whose responsibility is it to ensure that an employee loves his job?

While an employee would say - the employer, the human resource experts have a different point of view which sounds fair. It's both the employer and the employee who should work together to make work fun for each other.

It is interesting to know here, that employees do not rank 'salary' as the top factor in determining whether they like their jobs or not. What is important to them then - the opportunity to do what is 'important'. Almost all the employees would like to feel part of the big picture and would want to contribute to the organisational goals in some way or the other. Doing the mundane, routine work will never excite them - what excites them is - work that challenges them to use their talent.

A recent survey found that 83% of the 500 workers surveyed were motivated by "challenges at work". Also, as per an executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, while salary and promotions could do a great job of demotivating people if handled ineffectively, they aren't so much effective in motivating people.

So then what needs to be done for effective motivation at the workplace?

 Link Rewards directly to performance - An organisation should adopt a fair reward structure which provides incentive to the most deserving employees. Employees will gain trust in the fair reward system and believe that they will be rewarded if they perform well.

 Compliment employees - compliment an employee for a job well done - no matter how small. There is nothing more satisfying to an employee than a pat on his back. 

 Be transparent and communicate - While there may be some strategic decisions which you might want to share with the employees at a later stage, make sure employees do not give in to rumours. Stay in touch with the employees. 

 Work on your PDP- Every employee is responsible for his / her own career. He / she should work towards his 'Personal Development Plan' [PDP] as discussed and agreed by his manager. Where an employee adds value to their own personal development it naturally increases the employees motivation and productivity to the company – as well as increasing the employee's marketability and enhances their future career prospects. Win/Win

  Participate and express yourself - Employees should be encouraged to contribute to discussions, be heard and be a part of the process, especially where it involves the employees direct work environment. Expressing yourself is a good way of becoming positively engaged and motivating yourself.