Economic downturn raises motivational issues
Economic downturn raises motivational issues
Many business leaders are now focusing on streamlining and cost cutting to create leaner, more efficient operations that will weather difficult economic conditions. However, during such times of organisational change, the focus tends to be on "economics" rather than people. According to human resource consultants, Arkadia HR, such a narrow approach can be detrimental to the business in the long term.
Dr Roland Tarleton, director of Arkadia HR and a chartered occupational psychologist, explains: "Faced with the threat of a recession, the main focus of many business leaders is inevitably on reducing the costs involved in running the business. Although this is obviously important, the issue of retaining key staff and motivating the workforce to pull together through difficult times is paramount. Our experience, along with research and surveys carried out in many countries throughout the world, indicate that companies that focus on 'people' issues and keeping their staff motivated enjoy greater success. A motivated workforce generally translates into higher productivity,reduced absenteeism and reduced employee turnover. For example, customers are likely to receive an improved service from people that value their role in the company, demonstrating a real business benefit.
"An economic downturn increases employees' feelings of insecurity which will in turn impact on an individual's motivation – a key factor in performance and productivity. A business will not survive if key employees resign and join competitor companies, leaving behind a demotivated and unproductive workforce. Senior personnel with the responsibility for steering a business through economic uncertainty have to remain focused on the long term business objectives. The danger, otherwise, is that some people will simply procrastinate rather than concentrating efforts on driving the business forward.
"Businesses should also avoid knee-jerk reactions – for example making redundancies – as a solution to reducing costs. The cost of recruitment can be significant, so it is important not to make rash decisions about who should be made redundant and how many redundancies there should be. Such decisions will further damage the business and result in more costs in the long term. Also, if the workforce is reduced, then employers should remember that the staff remaining are likely to feel demotivated –especially as they may be faced with increased workloads."
The key to motivation, according to Arkadia HR, is identifying what "makes an individual tick" as well as the types of environment in which that individual will thrive. In the past, many companies have attempted to motivate the workforce by focusing on the extrinsic. In other words, they offer extra rewards and benefits in an attempt to persuade people to work harder. According to Arkadia, a new approach is needed.
Tarleton continues: "The 'extrinsic approach' can work in the short term but will be insufficient to retain key people in the long term. For example,many people are headhunted and persuaded to leave their existing company with the promise of significant salaries, company cars and bonuses. Six months later,once the honeymoon period is over, they often become dissatisfied due to a lack of intrinsic motivation.
"The fact is that there is a real difference between 'can do' and 'will do'. People may possess the right 'competencies' for a particular role but this is of little consequence unless the individual is also motivated to perform in that role. Employers should consider in what way and to what extent they can make use of an individual's ability and personality. This process will help in describing the individual's ideal role, direction for development, need for support, rate of progress and level of aspiration."
General guidelines for employers that wish to avoid a slump in motivation and output are to:
focus on employees' strengths rather than weaknesses;
identify what support is required in employees' current roles;
discuss employees' aspirations for the future; and
develop a structured career plan which will provide focus and give employees something to work towards.
Tarleton states: "Motivation is vital as it directly impacts on performance. Employers that recognise this and act on it are more likely to retain essential staff and therefore remain competitive throughout difficult economic times."
