Motivation of Employees

Employees and Team Formation

Employees are the most valuable human capital in a company and they perform a variety of activities that keep the business running. A disgruntled staff leads to poor output which causes the company to veer off course. Tuckman (1965) concluded that for a company to thrive, workers must operate as a team; therefore, he devised multiple phases of team formation to allow successful employee functioning and the achievement of high-quality outcomes.

Employee Motivation

In the specified example, the organization has a demotivated workforce because employee productivity is poor, workers arrive at work on their own time, and there is a lack of drive. The company is facing challenges in motivating its workforce which may occur due to management’s failure to emphasize employee satisfaction. The first step to employee motivation is embracing a competent communication (Jacoby, 2017). It is important to engage employees frequently in identifying their dissatisfaction and taking necessary action. It’s through communication that management will identify what motivates the workforce. All employees do not respond to the same motivators. Learning what drives each employee is an imperative step in achieving a motivated workforce.

Empowering Employees

Furthermore, there is need to empower them on their jobs. The company should ask employees’ suggestions on what they need to improve their performance. Lateness, lack of drive and workload complaints may be due to poor job design. The company can consider redesigning jobs to create a new experience which can motivate employee and improve their productivity. Furthermore, late report to work may be due to employees’ commitment, therefore, creating flexibility such as shift work and virtual working to boost their morale. Most importantly, appropriate compensation and rewards should be given to employees to recognize their exemplary work.

Leadership

Building effective teamwork starts with clear communication and trust. When team members trust themselves and leaders adopt frequent and clear communication, teamwork starts to build. To positively impact on team members, leaders must craft clear goals and achievable expectations. There should also be frequent meetings to resolve any dispute among members and determine gaps in employee satisfaction. Leaders can also plan for team building retreats and activities. Good teamwork also needs handsome rewards and incentives (Jacoby, 2017). Leadership should constantly seek feedback from customers and team members to recognize the best team player and encourage others to improve their customer services. It is also advisable to implement training programs to improve the team members’ knowledge of customer service.

Resolving Conflicts between Employees

Friction in ranks within the organization can make the workplace a war zone. Tension among employees can make the workplace uncomfortable for other employees who can adversely impact on the company productivity. The conflict between employees can be bad, and sometimes it can contribute to process improvement, healthy completion and creativity and innovation. A company should have a structure that enables employees to resolve their issues before the conflict is presented to the supervisor (Anderson & Bolt, 2016). Employees can approach conflicts in various ways. Employees can develop their own solutions to the problem and show their supervisor that they are trying to remedy the situation. Employees can also schedule a meeting with their supervisor and address the issue amicably. They should explain the tension between them and ask the supervisor how they can resolve the issue. Furthermore, employees should consult their handbooks to decipher the wrong from right. Employee handbooks also lay out guidelines for conflict resolution.

Resolving Conflicts between Employees and Customers

Personality conflict is something inevitable, and conflict among employees and customers can cause a lasting problem to an organization. Even a one-time event can motivate customers to destroy the business reputation that can cause a ripple effect on business performance. The most important approach to conflict management is training employees on methods of handling conflicts effectively. However, employees can follow various approaches to manage disputes with customers. The first approach is avoidance. When a heated discussion arises between a customer and an employee, the best approach is to back off and give the customer time to finish his claims. Diffusion is another approach, and it involves delaying the problem to a later date by distracting the customer from the real issue (Oakley, 2012). Trying to be sympathetic to the clients demonstrates care for them. Furthermore, confrontation is another approach which an employee can use. In the confrontation, the employee needs to be firm and assertive and deal with the issue head-on. It involves negotiation with the client to balance his need for the company’s needs.

Team Development

Bruce Tuckman developed five stages of team development which he believed were inevitable to make the team grow so that members can effectively function together and produce excellent results (Anderson & Bolt, 2016). The first stage is forming which happens when team members first meet to share their interests, experience, backgrounds and form the first impression of one another. Team members need to be clear about goals and offer concise direction about team projects. The second stage is storming which involves competition among members about acceptance of their ideas and status. Other activities in this stage include learning and from each other and respecting members’ ideas and differences.

Norming is the third stage, and it’s where the team starts working more effectively. They start focusing on developing processes and procedures that will enable them to achieve the team goal. It involves activities such as agreement of team rules, how to resolve conflict, how to share information and what processes and tools to use in getting the job done. These norming activities enable the team to advance to stage four which is performing. In stage four, the team is highly motivated. It involves activities such as problem-solving and decision making. Other activities include monitoring progress and celebrating milestones attained. Adjourning is the fifth and the last stage, and it involves termination of the project. It involves project evaluation to capture the lesson learned and celebration for project success.

Conclusion

In conclusion, employee motivation is an important activity in any organization. A motivated workforce is highly productive and contributes to the organization’s success. An entity should also have effective leadership that can motivate and create teamwork. Organization conflict is inevitable, but the impact of conflict depends on the ability of employees to resolve the conflict among themselves as well as with customers. Team development is integral for the effective functioning of the team and also improves the productivity of team members.

References

Anderson, L. E., & Bolt, S. B. (2016). Professionalism: Skills for Workplace Success (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Jacoby, M. (2017). Top 5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees (It’s Easier Than You Think). HuffPost. Retrieved 30 November 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-jacoby/top-5-ways-to-motivate-yo_b_5839504.html.

Oakley, J. L. (2012). Bridging the Gap between Employees and Customers. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(9-10), 1094-1113. doi:10.1080/0267257x.2011.617707.