How to Manage Motivation and Performance

The relationship between motivation and performance is often talked about but not many organizations are making concrete efforts to study it in detail and thus ending up walking in the blind alley rather than taking decision based on the findings and instigators.

Managers believe that motivation is just psyching up employees to give superior performance. It is no greater than old way of continuous supervision, after a time an employee no more is enthused about the prep talk, dangling carrot of increased incentives or histrionics of how the organization is making the world go round to further their career.

The measuring tools of the relationship are also rudimentary one; most organizations believe that their motivation strategies are working if there is lesser dis-satisfaction among employees and high retention rate.

The benchmark may shed some light in the hey days or economic boom but in the fast approaching stagnating economic conditions managements has to look beyond the tried and tested method. The key is to integrate people, process, technology and building a symbiotic environment where motivation comes from what an employee does in an organization than what he is told.

The processes should be designed to enable employees to put in work their knowledge, skill and expertise. The results should be transparent enough so that an individual don't have to look for higher authorities to interpret the performance. Finally each individual should be treated as an individual not a cog in wheel. Time has come when people should be focus of business rather than technology, machinery and results. People deliver results when they know how they can increase their ability and opportunity in an organization not when they were told why they have to. The reason for it is inherently all human being know what to expect not only from themselves but also from the organizations. Congruence of these two needs can motivate employees to give their best rather than that pot of commission.

Andy Mann writes Knowledge Management and Business Management articles, journal and columns for http://www.knowledgeweekly.com

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