Training as a Key Tool in Employee Motivation
Training as a Key Tool in Employee Motivation
By Joy Maiywa
The issue of employee performance and motivation is a concern of every manager and supervisor especially those who are getting work results that are much lower than the acceptable levels. If you are such a manager, your biggest challenge would be to find the right solutions for getting your employees motivated. The reason why motivated workers are important for any organization is that they are always more productive and resourceful than their less motivated counterparts who hold no pride and value for their work.
There are basically two reasons why employees do not perform. First, the people who are assigned a particular task do not have the skills or knowledge of getting it done. Second, the employees simply do not want to get the job done.
When employees lack the skills of performing a vital task, the solution is to provide the right training. Such employees may have the right motivation and intention to perform the task but are unable to do so due to lack of skills and knowledge. As a manager, your task would be to train the employees accordingly. You may consider providing either internal or external training. If there is a senior staff that has the skills for the job, you may appoint him or her to train the rest of the employees on the task. Remember however, that effective training involves practical demonstration on how a task is done and not simply providing knowledge. You may also consider external training using a hired consultant or training institute. If the same employees who lacked skills before the training are now able of handling the same work, then you know that the training has been effective. Otherwise, you may want to consider providing additional training, this time probably using a different training style.
Undesirable employee behavior of simply not wanting to work is a bit more challenging to correct. When managing or supervising a group, approximately 95 percent of them will perform the assigned tasks with little persuasion from you. The remaining 5 percent will need force to get the job done. Working with the latter category can easily cause you to get frustrated, which tends to be seen when you resort to issuing threats or shouting at them to get them to work. Such reaction, however, only tends to be counterproductive as you will most likely lose the employee and the opportunity to get the task completed. This is because most people react negatively to threats particularly those that threaten their employment security or possibility of future income increments.
Instead, you can turn around this problem and get your employees motivated by using a simple training solution. This is because employees continually want to develop and improve their career skills. By providing them with an opportunity to enhance their skills though training, they will get motivated to work. Such training will also bear good fruits for your organization since the employees will have improved skills and knowledge for handling their assigned tasks.
Once a task is completed satisfactorily, you should focus on giving group or personal praise. By publicly recognizing a job well-done, you will further motivate the employees to keep up the good job performance.
Joy Maiywa is a professional freelance writer and blogger. She has worked with clients from different fields including technology, education, health, and business and entrepreneurship. She writes for Degree Jungle online rankings, which provides information about online universities for future students.
