HBH225: Group Seminar Paper – Staff Motivation

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary Page 2

2 Introduction Page 3

3 Literature Review Page 3

3.1 Intrinsically Motivated Behaviour Page 3
3.1.1 Need Theories Page 3
3.1.2 Expectancy Theory Page 5
3.1.3 Justice and Equity Theory Page 5
3.2 Extrinsically Motivated Behaviour Page 6
3.3 Structural and Strategic Approaches to Motivation Page 7

4 Applications of Motivational Practices Page 8

4.1 Department of Sustainability and Environment Page 8
4.2 Melbourne Netball Company Page 9
4.3 National Hearing Centre Page 10

5 Key Recommendations and Discussion Page 11

6 Conclusion Page 11

7 Reference List Page 12

8 Appendices Page 14

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1: Executive Summary:

In contemporary business, there is no one theory or approach which will motivate all
employees. A 2006 study suggests opportunity and benefits (extrinsic motivator),
coupled with interesting work and satisfying relationships (intrinsic motivators) in the
office are vital to ensuring workers remain focused and motivated (Silverstein 2007).
Realising that extrinsic and intrinsic motivators both have a part to play in the
motivation of employees is paramount to helping employee’s reach the goals set by
company management.

The discussion on the four intrinsic reward theories, namely need theory, expectancy
theory, justice and equity theory, highlight this dynamic at work. Within this field, the
Four Drive Theory has withstood the test of time, enjoying the most academic support
by avoiding ranking “needs” in a hierarchy. It has also been structured around the
inclusion of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, ensuring that employees’ differing
motivational needs are continually met.

The three applications of motivational tools discussed offer a broad overview of

effective and ineffective motivational practices used in the workplace today. The
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) offers the best example of
combining intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in such a manner as to provide a high level
of motivation. The Department’s Performance Management Plan includes
‘performance planning’, ‘performance monitoring and review’, ‘performance
assessment cycle’ and a ‘recognition and reward’ program.

An effective management plan such as that of DSE will ensure organisations can
design and structure jobs so that employees have the ability to receive both extrinsic
and intrinsic rewards within their place of work. When implemented effectively, these
motivational theories will ultimately lead to increased productivity and greater
workplace satisfaction, rewarding both employer and employee.

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2: Introduction

McShane and Travaglione offer an explanation of motivation to be ‘…the forces

within a person that affect the direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary
behaviour’ (2007, p. 138). It works on the basis that individuals will exert a certain
level of effort (intensity), for a certain amount of time (persistence), towards a certain
goal (direction).

Alternatively, a more simplistic explanation of motivation is offered by former U.S

President Dwight Eisenhower (cited by Silverstein 2007) who stated that ‘motivation
is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do
it’.

This report examines the broad topic of staff motivation in two main ways; firstly a
review of literature discussing motivation has been conducted, and secondly the
motivational practices of three real organisations have been identified.

3: Literature Review:

George and Jones (2008) make the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic forms of
motivation; intrinsically motivated behaviour is that performed for its own sake, that
is, the reward comes from satisfaction of performing the task; extrinsically motivated
behaviour is behaviour that is performed to acquire material or social rewards or to
avoid punishment.

3.1: Intrinsic Motivation:

In order to break down the numerous attempts to address the broad topic of intrinsic
motivation, theories of motivation can be broken down into: need theories;
expectancy theories; and equity and organisational justice theories (George and Jones
2008).

3.1.1: Need Theories:

Perhaps the greatest known theory of need motivation is Abraham Maslow’s

Hierarchy of Needs (McShane and Von Glinow 2008). It arranges human needs into a
hierarchy whereby people are motivated to fulfil a higher need as a lower one
becomes gratified. An explanation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is offered in
appendix figure 1.

Most recent research offers little or no support for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
(McShane and Travaglione, 2007), even Maslow himself recorded in his journal he
was surprised that people had so widely accepted his theory without critique.
Criticisms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are summarised in figure 1 below:

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Figure 1: Criticisms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

This does not however mean that his theory is without use today; his work about self-
actualisation of human potential is still of use today as it shows that needs can be
influenced by cultural and societal factors, they are not purely instinctive – until this
theory, needs were assumed to develop due to deprivation (i.e. hunger), but Maslow
proposed that needs could develop for self-gratification. Maslow also made the point
that organisations, and society in general, should be structured to allow individuals to
fulfil their progressive needs. (McShane and Von Glinow 2008).

Two other theories of needs which are of relevance to a discussion of motivation, but
lack wholehearted support are Alderfer’s ERG theory, and McClelland’s Learned
Needs Theory. These are examined in appendix figure 2.

Finally, the theory of needs which seems to have the greatest academic support is by
Harvard Business School professors Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria called the four-
drive theory; the four-drive theory has also highlighted the importance of drives and
needs in determining behaviour, but has avoided ranking needs in a hierarchy.
(McShane and Travaglione, 2007). A summary of the four-drive theory is included in
appendix figure 3.

Support for the four-drive theory exists for reasons outlined in figure 2 below:

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Figure 2: Support for the Four-Drive Theory

3.1.2: Expectancy Theory:

This motivation theory works on the premise that the work effort of individuals will
be directed towards those behaviours that will lead to desirable outcomes. (Greenberg
and Baron 2008). That is, an individual will be highly motivated to perform a task if
they believe it will lead to a positive outcome. A more detailed explanation of the
expectancy theory can be found in appendix figure 4.

The expectancy theory is advantageous because it provides clear guidelines for

increasing employee motivation: by either ensuring staff feel confident they can
complete the task (effort to performance relationship); increasing employee belief that
a certain task will result in good outcomes (performance to outcome relationship); or
increasing the value with which employees hold the outcomes on offer (outcome
valance). (McShane and Von Glinow 2008).

3.1.3: Justice and Equity Theory:

Justice and equity may not be motivational factors, but the absence of justice and
equity in the workforce may be ‘demotivational’ (McShane and Travaglione 2007).

Justice in the workplace refers to both distributive justice: whereby employee

outcomes should be equal, relative to others and the amount of effort put in; and
procedural justice: where all employees experience fairness in procedures used to
distribute outcomes.

Equity theory suggests that employees consider their own outcome to input ratio in
relation to the outcome to input ratio received by others. That is, a person examines
the output they received compared to the input they put in, before examining the ratio
of others. This can result in either equity, where the ratio between input and outcomes
of two people are equal; or an over/under reward situation, where the ratio between
outcomes and inputs of two people are different.

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A workplace should provide employees with equity amongst their peers in terms of
the outcomes they receive, that is, distributive and procedural justice. Of course, this
all depends on individuals’ perceptions of fairness in the exchange and distribution of
resources.

3.2: Extrinsic Motivation:

According to Stephen Covey, ‘motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries
to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly’ (cited by Silverstein
2007). Extrinsic motivators can have an immediate and powerful effect, but one that
may not necessarily last long; intrinsic motivators are inherent in individuals and not
imposed from the outside, and as such are considered more effective. (Armstrong
2007). This is not to say that intrinsic motivators are good and extrinsic bad, they both
have a part to play.

Extrinsic motivators offered by organisations often come under the title of rewards,
compensation or remuneration. Unkles (2008) makes the distinction between the
extrinsic rewards that have become the norm, and the extrinsic rewards that the
organisations which try to attract the best employees (employers of choice) offer their
staff. Figure 3 below lists examples of rewards that fit in each of the categories:

Figure 3: Types of extrinsic rewards offered by organisations

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Explanations of extrinsic rewards offered by organisations can be explained by

Thorndike’s reinforcement theory, and Vroom’s expectancy theory (De Cieri et al.
2008). Reinforcement theory suggests that when individuals associate a particular
action with a particular outcome, they will determine whether or not to repeat that
action based on the desirability of the outcome. For example, an action that is
associated with a positive or advantageous outcome will be repeated, whereas an
action associated with a negative outcome will not be repeated (George and Jones
2008).

Expectancy theory, which has been discussed as part of intrinsic motivation, also is
relevant to extrinsic motivation; the rewards that influence whether or not an
employee decides to exert effort towards a task may be extrinsic rewards. (De Cieri et
al. 2008) Appendix figure 4, also referred to in the discussion of intrinsic motivation,
gives a detailed explanation of the expectancy theory.

3.3: Structural and Strategic Approaches to Motivation:

According to Armstrong (2007), intrinsic motivation is provided when jobs are well
designed; that is, rather than solely using extrinsic motivators, organisations can
design jobs so that employees can experience intrinsic motivation to perform.

A recent report of employees across many fields, ages and experiences found that the
following percentages of people are motivated by the following factors (Greenberg
and Baron 2008):

Factors That Motivate Employees

45%
39%
Percentage of Employees

40%
35%
30%
25% 21% 20%
20% 16%
15% 11%
9%
10% 6% 6% 5% 4%
5%
0%
Incentives

Inspiring
Team Spirit

Getting Paid

Peer Group
Challenging

Promotion

Loyalty to

to Corporate
Prospects

Management

Contributing
Company
Sense of
Projects

Boss
Respect

Success
Praise

Factor

Figure 4: Factors That Motivate Employees

This suggests that there are many different things which motivate different
employees, and there is no one theory or approach which will motivate all employees.

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A 2006 study suggests that fair opportunity and benefits, the opportunity to
accomplish good work, and satisfying relationships with co-workers are vital. If just
one of the three factors is missing, employees are three times less enthusiastic than a
company where all three factors are present. (Silverstein 2007). Furthermore,
according to Di Cieri et. al. ‘the importance of goal setting cannot be overemphasised,
it is one of the most effective motivators of performance’ (2008, p 382).

Therefore, recommendations for organisations to ensure motivated employees

include:

• Equity in the distribution of benefits and opportunities within the organisation.

• Encouraging employees to work to their full potential and take pride in their
work.
• Allowing employees to develop relationships with peers.
• Structuring jobs so that employees have a clear understanding of the goals and
targets set for them, allowing intrinsic forms of motivation to drive the work
of employees.

4: Applications of Motivational Practices:

To demonstrate some motivational procedures in practice in the business

environment, several examples have been included:

4.1: Department of Sustainability and Environment:

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) employs 2700 staff, with
90 different locations across Victoria. Their main role is the sustainable management
of water resources, climate change, bushfires, public land, forests and ecosystems
around Victoria. (Interview with P Lynch, Employee of DSE, 26 March 2008.)

With such a high number of staff the role of senior managers to keep the employees
motivated is at times a difficult one. Consequently, the main motivational strategy the
department utilises is a Performance Management Plan. This plan helps each
employee in the company to develop their work goals and determine how these goals
will help the company achieve their outcomes while also focussing on
communication, planning and training and development.

There are 3 key stages in the Department’s Performance Management Plan, as

outlined in table 5 below:

Stage Description
1 ‘Performance planning’; a performance agreement discussion between the
employee and their manager. This stage allows the employee to set their
goals and agree on the performance measures for each goal. This is
documented for future reference.
2 ‘Performance Monitoring and Review’; continuous feedback from manager
to employee regarding the employee’s performance throughout the cycle. A

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formal mid-cycle review is also conducted which is designed to monitor the

employee’s overall work performance against the goals set out in the first
stage of the plan. Any goals or performance measures that are no longer
relevant can be modified or replaced in this stage. Managers in this stage
need to encourage performance from employees so they continue to strive
towards fulfilling their work related goals.
3 ‘Performance Assessment Cycle’; The assessment is supposed to be an
honest discussion on employee performance and achievements between the
manager and employee. However, the manager is solely responsible for the
final assessment recommendation. In this stage the employee’s goals are
assessed against the performance measure previously agreed upon and an
assessment score table is used to assess and score each goal. This will help
assess the level of monetary reward that the employee will receive for
fulfilling their goals.
Table 5: DSE Performance Management Process

To further motivate their employees to reach their full potential, the Department
acknowledges achievements by their staff which encourages them to continue to work
in accordance with the organisation’s values and behaviours. The Department
introduced a Recognition and Reward program to recognise outstanding achievers in
the organisation. Each winner receives a trophy for their workplace, a personal
certificate and a small gift. This combines both intrinsic rewards such as recognition
and appreciation, and extrinsic rewards in a trophy and gift. Some examples of areas
in which employees can gain recognition for are customer service, community
engagement or leadership and people management. (Interview with P Lynch,
Employee of DSE, 26 March 2008.)

4.2: Melbourne Netball Company:

Melbourne Netball is the largest social netball company in Melbourne, employing 60

staff members on a weekly basis, they are predominately female and their ages range
from 15 to 47 years.

The motivation techniques utilised by Melbourne Netball include:

• The Umpire of the Year Award where staff members receive a $200 gift
certificate.
• Cash bonuses to staff members who take on extra shifts and cover shifts at late
notice.
• Melbourne Netball also chooses to promote staff within the company, this can
increase staff motivation, for example, staff that start with the company as
game umpires have the opportunity to be trained as evening coordinators.
• Increasing umpires’ powers in relation to dealing with difficult players, for
example, giving umpires the ability to remove problem players from the court.

Melbourne Netball management said there were two central challenges they faced
when motivating their employees. Firstly, for some staff this is their second job,

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meaning that they may have already worked 10 hours before commencing their
umpiring shift. The second is that younger members struggle to assertively motivate
themselves to work at the same standard if management is not present – client’s
complaints increase substantially when management is not present at each venue
(interview with D Glass, Company Manager, 31 March 2008).

4.3: National Hearing Centre:

The National Hearing Centre is a government subsidised call centre, whose business
is to call up pensioners and attempt to book them in for a free hearing check. In short,
like most calling centres, the more bookings secured, the more profit for the
organisation.

Due to the bland nature of the job which requires staff to perform repetitive and
passive duties on a relatively average wage, motivation is an exceptionally important
HR issue within the organisation. In the past, the company has used various
motivation techniques to encourage its staff; some positive, and some which are
considered to do more harm than good (Interview with Z Thomas, former National
Hearing Centre employee, 27 March 2008).

Strategy Technique used:

No.
1 ‘Hangman’: Group games of hangman conducted within a shift. Only
after the employee has made an appointment for a hearing check were
they allowed to call out and suggest a letter or solution to the game of
hangman. In one particular case, a staff member was terminated after
yelling at and using abusive language towards a fellow staff member for
calling out the solution to hangman without making an appointment
prior.
2 ‘Clackers’: Towards the end of a shift, managers walk by, near their
working staff members, waving loud clackers whilst yelling reminders
about appointment quotas, in an attempt to rouse staff members.
3 Weekly raffles: The prizes for this raffle were of little interest to the
staff, e.g., garden gnomes, candles. These inexpensive prizes with
minimal appeal proved to do the opposite of its intent.
4 Weekly prizes: Either a $50 Myer or petrol voucher is given to high
performing staff members. These prizes were motivating to staff as they
were practical and functional. Staff members who booked the highest
number of appointments received another functional gift of $150-$300
value, e.g. an out doors gas heater.
5 Early Departure: Staff members are allowed to leave work an hour
early whilst still getting paid, if they had reached a certain target.
6 Yearly prize: A car awarded to staff member who secures the most
bookings for that year.

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More information regarding the National Hearing Centre can be found in appendix
figure 5.

5: Key Recommendations and Discussion:

In examining these three companies, a wide range of motivational techniques have

been demonstrated. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE)
appears to have implemented the most successful motivational practices, combining
both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to motivate staff. Principally, DSE structures its
workplace in a way which condones intrinsically motivated behaviour, by assisting
staff to set their own goals they utilise one of the most effective motivational
techniques (De Cieri et. al. 2008).

Melbourne Netball Company successfully utilises extrinsic motivators such as cash

bonuses and gift certificates to reward high performing staff, however may be lacking
in intrinsically motivating staff. Melbourne Netball could take a similar approach to
DSE, whereby they introduce an awards ceremony to recognise high levels of staff
performance, promoting both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

The unique strategies employed by The National Hearing Centre such as games of
hangman, lucky dips and noise clackers, are no longer used by the company as they
were, quite rightly, considered to be ineffective. In an interview with an employee of
the company, the employee stated that these techniques proved to be highly de-
motivating, because no extra incentive to perform occurred, and at times the employee
actually became distracted from their work (Interview with Z Thomas, former
National Hearing Centre employee, 27 March 2008). It is recommended that the
National Hearing Centre stick to more orthodox techniques, currently in use since the
change of management in 2007 – they should not revert back to the ineffective
practices previously used.

In broader terms, of how high levels of motivation can impact upon an organisation as
a whole, the link between motivation and performance has already been discussed
numerous times; the resulting higher levels of performance, can relate to a more
competitive workforce and more satisfied stakeholders from an organisation’s point of
view (Guthridge et. al., 2008).

Furthermore, an organisation’s compensation and rewarding system that results in

highly motivated employees is one of the requirements of a ‘high performance work
system’ (Den Hartog and Verburg, 2004 citing Batt, 2002). Therefore, a high
performance work system, which results in highly motivated staff, increases employee
performance, maximises the organisation’s competitiveness and thereby satisfies
stakeholder needs.

6: Conclusion:

In a thorough examination of motivation, the topic has been broken into intrinsic and
extrinsic forms of motivation. From the dozens of theories and explanations available
regarding motivation, many have attracted criticisms; the most pertinent and accepted

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theories include the four-need theory, expectancy theory, justice and equity theory
and reinforcement theory.

Furthermore, the motivational practices of three companies have been examined. The
Department of Sustainability and Environment successfully utilises both intrinsic and
extrinsic rewards to motivate staff; Melbourne Netball Company predominantly uses
extrinsic rewards, with the intermittent intrinsic reward such as promotion – there is
the potential though to use even more intrinsic reward structures. Finally, the National
Hearing Centre rewards staff with only extrinsic rewards, although the rewards are
now much more appropriate then they have been in the past.

It is recommended that all organisations design and structure jobs so that all
employees have the ability to receive extrinsic rewards, but also are in a position to
experience intrinsic rewards such as appreciation, recognition and satisfaction. This
includes involving staff in setting clear goals for them to achieve, encouraging staff to
reach their full potential and fostering relationships between employees.

7: Reference List:

Armstrong, M 2007, A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practice,

Second Edition, Kogan Page, London.

De Ceiri H, Kramar R, Noe R, Hollenbeck J, Gerhart B & Wright P 2008, Human

Resource Management in Australia: Strategy, People, Performance, Third Edition,
McGraw Hill Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney.

Den Hartog, D, Verburg, R 2004, High Performance Work Systems, Organisational

Culture and Firm Effectiveness, Human Resource Management Journal, Volume 14,
Issue 1, pp. 55-78, Business Source Premier, ISSN: 0954-5395, Accessed: 8 April
2008.

George, J & Jones, G 2008, Understanding and Managing Organisational Behaviour,

Fifth Edition, Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River.

Greenberg, J & Baron, R 2008, Behaviour in Organisations, Ninth Edition, Pearson

Education Inc, Upper Saddle River.

Guthridge M, Komm A, Lawson E 2008, ‘Making Talent a Strategic Priority’, The

McKinsey Quarterly, April 2008.

McKenna, E 2006, Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour: A Student’s

Handbook, Fourth Edition, Psychology Press, East Sussex.

McShane, S & Travaglione, T 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim,

Second Edition, McGraw Hill Australia Pty Ltd, North Ryde.

McShane, S & Von Glinow, M 2008, Organisational Behaviour: Emerging Realities

for the Workplace Revolution, Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York.

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Rouse A, Wells N, Morello-Urso A, Conroy C 2005, Managing Corporations, People

and Change, Pearson Education Australia, Melbourne.

Silverstein, B 2007, Motivating Employees: Bringing Out the Best in Your People,
Harper Collins Publishers, New York.

Unkles, D 2008, ‘Three Employment Market Specialists Preview the Trends in

Remuneration for 2008’, HR Monthly, February 2008.

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8: Appendices:

Appendix Figure 1:

Needs are deficiencies that energise or trigger behaviours to satisfy those needs; needs
are often fulfilled by drives: instinctive or innate tendencies to seek certain goals or
maintain internal stability (McShane and Travaglione, 2007).

In applying the hierarchy of needs to motivating employees, an organisation should

tailor remuneration packages to suit the needs of employees. For example, if one
employee is using their income to feed a family of five, then they may be motivated
by cash bonuses and supermarket gift vouchers which could help them meet their
family’s physiological needs; however, another employee who supports only
themselves, may not be as motivated by cash, and may prefer the opportunity to fulfil
social needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is shown diagrammatically below:

Source: Rouse et. al. 2005

Appendix Figure 2:

A theory of needs which has more support than Maslow’s, but once again is not
without its criticisms is Alderfer’s ERG theory. It also puts needs into a hierarchy,
namely, what humans need to exist, the need for humans to relate to one another, and
finally the need for humans to experience growth. (McKenna 2006). It improves one’s
knowledge about motivation because Alderfer contended that people can move up and
down the hierarchy, whereas Maslow concentrated on moving upwards; it also gained
some support for clustering human needs into three categories, which is more succinct

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than Maslow’s five. Given this however, support for Alderfer’s ERG theory is still
somewhat constrained (McShane and Travaglione 2007).

Moving on, David McClelland offered a Learned Needs Theory, also known as the 3
needs theory which says that through early childhood learning, life experiences,
parenting styles and social norms people learn the need for achievement, the need for
affiliation and the need for power. (McShane and Von Glinow 2008). McClelland was
actively involved in training people to utilise the three need theory to maximise their
own performance; he advocated individuals becoming achievement and goal driven,
and networking at every opportunity, thereby satisfying the achievement and
affiliation needs. As such, McClelland has not so much devised a stand-alone theory,
but has created a training program where people learn to become aware of their own
needs, and the program seems to work; there is evidence supporting these programs,
showing that participants who become more achievement oriented and utilise social
networks tend to succeed.

Appendix Figure 3:

The four-drive theory categorises drives into four areas which compel individuals to
act, or at least trigger emotions which compel people to act. The four-drive theory
includes:

• Drive toacquire; the drive for humans to seek, take control of and retain
material objects and personal experiences.
• Drive to bond, to create relationships with others.
• Drive to learn, to satisfy one’s curiosity and understand ourselves and the
environment.
• Drive to defend ourselves physically, socially and intellectually; to defend
one’s property, and to defend others.

Lawrence and Nohria (cited by McShane and Von Glinow 2008) recommend that
organisations create environments in which individuals can strive to achieve all four
drives, in moderation, lest dysfunction and organisational politics reign. This could
involve organisational procedures including:

• An organisational culture which is flexible and embracive to change will

support the drive to learn, resulting in engaged employees; but a culture that is
too unstable will trigger the drive to defend oneself from uncertainty.
• Social opportunities will stimulate the drive to bond, but too much will cause
‘cult thinking’ and undermine diversity; also social loafing can be
unproductive.
• Employees should also be offered a choice of rewards, rather than
organisations rewarding all employees in the same way. Although all
employees have the same drives, the characteristics and priorities of these
drives are different, for example, one employee may seek monetary rewards to
satisfy the drive to acquire, but another employee may be more motivated by
the drive to learn, so external training may be valuable.

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Appendix Figure 4:

The expectancy theory is a three step process (McShane and Travaglione 2007).

• The effort to performance relationship – one considers what would happen if

they exerted effort towards this task. Would they be able to accomplish the
task?
• The performance to outcome relationship – one considers the likely outcome
of accomplishing the task, (learned response).
• The outcome valance - where the individual considers the value of the
outcome, that is, how desirable or undesirable the outcome is for them.

For example, if an employee was asked to work all night to finish a report by the
following morning:

• Firstly the employee would examine whether or not they believe they could
complete the task being asked of them.
• Secondly, the employee would speculate as to the outcome that would result if
they finished the report, for example appreciation, respect or bonus.
• Thirdly, the employee would examine how valuable the outcome is to them;
some individuals might do it for the appreciation they will receive from their
boss, or for the satisfaction of accomplishing the task (intrinsic motivators),
others might only do it for a cash bonus (extrinsic motivator).

Appendix Figure 5:

In the past, the National Hearing Centre has used various motivation techniques to
encourage its staff; some positive, and some which have proven to do more harm than
good.

In 2005 the company attempted to increase the motivation of its staff by conducting
group games of hangman within a shift. Only after the employee made an
appointment for a hearing check were they allowed to call out and suggest a letter or
solution to the game of hangman. With an average of just 1.5 appointments made per
shift per staff member, one could imagine how tedious and dull this activity could be.

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In one particular case, a staff member was terminated after yelling at and using
abusive language towards a fellow staff member for calling out the solution to
hangman without making an appointment. This technique is not being used anymore.

Additionally, towards the end of a shift when staff appeared to be tiring and
appointment figures were down, managers would walk by near their working staff
members, waving loud clackers whilst yelling reminders about appointment quotas, in
an attempt to rouse staff members. This technique proved to do the opposite of its
intent, and was in fact, highly distracting.

With the failure of these techniques, management then attempted to introduce a

weekly raffle. The prizes for this raffle were of little interest to the staff, for example,
a garden gnome, or candle. With such inexpensive prizes with little or no appeal, once
again staff members still seemed unmotivated, and with the management team of
2006, the company saw the highest turnover rate ever.

In 2007, with the introduction of a new management team, along too came new
management strategies. No longer were cheap monthly raffles held, but weekly prizes
of either a $50 Myer or petrol voucher were offered. These prizes were motivating to
staff as they were practical and functional. As well as this, staff members who booked
the highest number of appointments received another functional gift of $150-$300
value, for example, an outdoor gas heater.

Another successful motivational technique includes allowing employees who had met
their target to leave work an hour early whilst still being paid. The final technique the
company introduced was a yearly prize of a car, this too proved to be highly
motivating to staff, increasing morale and creating a positive working atmosphere.

Prior to determining these prizes, the new management team had conducted surveys
within its company to better understand its employees. Therefore, by conducting this
research, management was able to determine its staff members’ needs and wants, and
cater rewards to suit.

The change of management team in 2007 obviously brought about a positive change
in the motivational policies of the organisation.

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