Motivating an employee to fetch a higher performance than usual, enrolling his heart and soul into work, and retaining him for a longer period, is a skill many organizations and managers lack. The concept of “motivation,” which can be simplified as a drive to persistently move in a direction to achieve a particular goal, should be understood by the present day employers, managers and trainers.
“Managing is old; today it’s about engaging employees” quoted Daniel Pink in one of his seminars. “If you want compliance, management works, but if you want engagement, self-direction is needed.” Not making this article jargonized, I will simplify the statement. Management, which means controlling and organising resources, including the human resource, doesn’t apply to the present day work environment, when the employee expects something more than just supervision and Monetary rewards. It’s an old concept when rewards and punishment played an important role to get employees to work. No one under the sky can make someone work until the other person himself desires to.
“Reward and Punishment” is outdated
“Incentivising with money” stands good for tasks which lack creativity and are accomplished for the sole want of money. Incentives can narrow one’s vision, kill creativity, make one work faster losing the sight of quality, and thus making the performance worse. In a
research, conducted by Professor Dan O’Reilly, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of U.S., it was seen that mechanical tasks tied to a reward extracted better performance, whereas the tasks that involved creativity, the presence of rewards made the performance bad. Also, monetary rewards can limit the employee to work until the reward or the salary is justified. In such cases, it’s hard to make them go an extra mile for their work. Similarly, the fear of punishment works until the manager is there or till the employee is within the office. The quality of work and one’s sincerity towards the customer goes for a toss in the absence of supervision. Likewise, using fear as a motivator can lead to sycophancy instead of a high performance.
In traditional organizations, employees were found away from their workstations, spending most of the time sitting elsewhere, trying to avoid work, or calling in to tell that they are sick. But this doesn’t work today, when the race is not to keep the business running, but to make it world class.
What motivates an employee?
The needs of a human being are satisfied with food, money, shelter, clothing, sleep and sex. But there is a need which is no less than food or money and that is the need to feel 
valued. It is important to make an employee feel important and a crucial part of the organisation’s goals. The employee needs to be informed about the vision of the company he is working for, than just limiting him to his work and his work station. The managers need to know that every employee wants to be magnificent. No one wakes up in the morning thinking “I will screw my job today.” Involving people in decision making, asking them the way their work can be best done, praising them for what they do and making them feel how valued their views are, are some of the simplest ways to engage them to work diligently.
Autonomy
It’s also important to understand that the ones who can work, also know how to decide for their work. Encouraging freedom to work their way, employees feel autonomous. It shows the manager’s trust in himself and his employees. The managers, who keep confirming if the
work is done, lack leadership and the ability to touch base with their employees. It further shows that the goals of the company have not been shared with the team.
Brian Clemons, an employee of Cox cable Inc., on his vacation, overheard a customer complaining about Cox cable at a store where Brian was buying lumber. When Brian’s wife was waiting and the complaint was not Brian’s job, he went ahead and pacified the customer. People around were astonished to see his concern for the customer, when Brian was neither in the company’s uniform nor on duty. He assured service to the person concerned and called the company to send a team of repair crew to the customer’s place. Later, after his vacation, Brian went ahead to call the customer to ask if everything was working fine, and provided him with a special discount as a part of company’s apology for the defect faced by him. According to the GM of Cox Cables, it was a normal behaviour expected of any employee in an organisation where everyone shares the company’s vision. He added that employees at Cox are involved in every decision and have the autonomy to work their way. It makes them feel valued.
Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th president of U.S., when asked that how he controlled and managed congress so well, he said “I would rather persuade a man to go along because once he has been persuaded, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone”
It’s always about getting people want to do something. Transfer the ownership to them and move out of the way, and they will do everything to their best and achieve the goals.
Manager’s Interest in Employees
The second aspect, which makes retention and peak performance in an organization possible, is the employer’s or manager’s interest in his/her employees. Genuine care and 
love for the employees, leaves no option but a high performance from the employee’s side. Maximum number of people, who remain with a company for long, have been recorded to have a good relation with their superiors. It’s about treating people like a family, for they are human beings before they are employees. A little “hello,” “a sweet bye” and a sincere understanding of their concerns makes it all possible. Pretending can prove risky, for thoughts travel faster than honey coated words. They will know that you don’t really care and it’s all superficial. The key is to actually care for them, for their wellbeing and their growth as individuals and the best performance at work would naturally follow.
Recognition
The third aspect is recognizing them around their performance. Acknowledgment, of a task
well done, repeats the performance over time. It’s called positive reinforcement, where mind seeks to achieve good results over and over, to get appreciated every time. It’s best to look for chances to appreciate employees and they will end up putting their best. Lack of appreciation on the other hand can lead to a lack of enforcement, because when unappreciated, doing their best doesn’t make them feel great about themselves. Recognition is backed by a human being’s need to feel great or feel higher than before.
Adding challenges or newness to work becomes a tool to motivation, as it cuts monotony and adds to their learning. It brings them out of their comfort zone and makes them feel excited and exhilarated. It also gives a sense of development and supports their growth.
Communicate and Understand
Lastly, it’s also important to communicate and understand what an employee really desires. Taking an employee out on a coffee or joining him during lunch, and asking him the reason to join the organization and where he sees himself five years down the line, can help get a better understanding of what he/she needs. Getting deep into his hobbies and knowing about his family, can further develop a level of comfort and trust. The manager’s getting in touch with his employees, not as per his mood, but as a routine, can help to have a tailor made reward system for each one of them and thus result in better outputs.