Managing People: Critical Issue of Low Employee Motivation and Ways to Motivate and Engage Employees

This report analyses the critical issue of low employee motivation and engagement in the context of Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners. It identifies the negative effects of lack of employee motivation and discusses different ways to motivate and engage employees. The report also justifies why recognition and reward method is advantageous. The subject is managing people and the course code is not mentioned. The report is relevant for students studying management courses in any college or university.

MANAGING PEOPLE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART — A......................................................................................................................................4
Identifying the critical issue of low employee motivation...........................................................4
Negative effects of lack of employee motivation........................................................................4
PART — B.......................................................................................................................................7
Different ways to motivate and engage employees.....................................................................7
Justifying why 'Recognition & Reward' method is advantageous...............................................8
PART — C.....................................................................................................................................10
Application of theoretical framework........................................................................................10
PART — D....................................................................................................................................12
Value based reflective statement...............................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Every business organization is made up of its personnel, management teams, external
stakeholders, and its end users. One of the main components of a workplace is its human
potential or better known as human resources. An employer recruits people based on their
understanding and intent of achieving the desired goals and objectives. This is accomplished
with proper employee/people management (Chemuturi and et.al., 2019). There are many
workplace challenges that threatens company's productivity such as strategy execution, change
management, etc.
The following report will analyse the critical issue of low employee motivation and
engagement in the context of the company 'Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners'. Headquartered in
Uxbridge, United Kingdom, it is a leading consumer goods organization. The beverage company
relates its worldwide growth not only to boosting sales or regional tastes but more importantly to
the various protective measures it undertakes for improving employee engagement. The report
will discuss various issues that hamper work engagement and will focus on one critical issue in
detail along with highlighting a key recommendation strategy for the same thereby illustrating its
significance.

PART — A
Identifying the critical issue of low employee motivation
The business leaders and their management teams face a hard time in coping with
demotivated employees. It is a humane approach that management teams across all businesses
need to incorporate in their strategic plans. The organizational environment and productivity
scale take a deep hit when unprecedented challenges like low motivation levels of employees
exist. This dominant issue needs to be resolved as it further leads to less engagement.
Employee motivation is concerned with a positively driven attitude of employees to their
workplace environment. The positive factors of employee experience relate to healthy
surroundings and the negative impacts pertain to the daily nuisances at office spaces. A
motivated employee proves beneficial for themselves as well as the organization (Nikolova and
et.al., 2022). In converse the absence of motivation among employees lowers their work
engagement and proves detrimental to the business. Here are some key aspects of this challenge
and how effectively they can be managed.
Negative effects of lack of employee motivation
 Conflicting Situations and Unpleasant Colleagues. Certain employees within Coca
Cola Co. face these occupational conflicts and relate to them on a daily basis. Events like
disagreeable attitudes, offensive behaviours, and unpleasant interpersonal conduct at
workplaces demotivate employees to continue working in the company or organization.
Situations such as miscommunication, aggressive personalities, and a total lack of
concern for people's feelings end up negatively affecting and hurting the person.
 Insufficient Communication of Task Information. The task related hurdle
ineffectively hampers the handling of assigned tasks and poses time management
difficulties within the organization. In case the managing team leader or supervisor fails
to provide a detailed analysis of the concerned assignment on the basis of which the
employee submits the work, then undesirable situations arise where the employee is
blamed for task related blunders (Diamantidis and et.al., 2018). The situation becomes
unfavourable for the worker given the loopholes in communication.

 Employee Cutbacks. In an organization there can be frequent cutbacks due to new
entrants, economic recession, and the replacement by overly qualified recruits. Similarly,
the same has been observed in the context of Coca Cola Co. during the COVID era. This
shows the poor management of workforce retention and lack of organizational insight
into retaining people who have been loyal to them. The end result is demotivated workers
who fall victim to negative influencers such as poor and unfair treatment of their abilities.
 Profit Maximization and Negative Engagement. Businesses that put a more than
required emphasis on expanding their profit margins usually fail in adhering to their staff
members' efforts and requirements. This kind of negative atmosphere becomes
detrimental for workers. In an August survey Coca Cola company dispatched 300 plus
managers to assess internal challenges where it was found that employees lacked work
engagement and were not working as a unified team.
The harmful repercussions of low motivation can be subsided by encouraging the
workforce within Coca Cola through the following ways.
 Building up new skills Employers can help employees progress through performance
appraisals to increase their work motivation. New Employees need to be taught the required
professional skills which creates a sense of competence among the workforce. This enhances
workmanship and encourages workers to towards committing more (Kim and et.al., 2018).
In this case, Coca Cola company has conducted interesting exchange programs where
employees get international exposure.
 Handling Disagreements Disparities between the personnel and the management leads to
damaged interpersonal relationships. Here building an encouraging environment separates
facts from opinion and try to focus more on where both the parties agree. Trying or being
rude to employees will lead to poor morale, low productivity and lesser respect from their
side. The establishment of decent and friendly interactions cast a positive influence on the
performance of employees. Helpful interactions among employees, their co-workers, the
management, and the customers at Coca Cola radiate a supportive working zone.
 Praise and Criticism Employers must praise and criticize when the employees are doing
good or bad. The goal of the employer should be to improve performance and efficiency .

Employers Must try to avoid going personal and try to focus on things which creates a
mutual respect for both. This factor involves a time to time encouragement of the employees'
efforts and simultaneous applause of their task achievements. Recognition of the little wins
makes it easier for the working staff to put more efforts in the next tasks (Puni and et.al.,
2018). The beverage organization elevated the working standard of employees and drives
them towards enhanced productivity.
 Transparent Communication The daily completion of work involves a proper structuring
of the work outlines. Schedule regular appraisals for employees in order to review progress,
problems and plans. ''Calling the problems out was a critical first step in recognizing the
need for a common framework to move the company forward,'' said Cynthia McCague the
senior vice president of HR at Coca Cola HBC. Employers must be prepared to have a
conversation about things on which they mutually agree based on their likes and dislikes
(Klotz and et.al., 2018).
 Bonus Schemes These schemes can play an important part in captivating employees’
motivation. Certain organizational perks such as giving short breaks on a daily basis, holiday
relaxations, a good responsive attitude towards employee requests, and an approachable
management results in employee retention and upliftment. Bonuses which are Company
oriented will promote teamwork and employee retention and satisfaction. The consumer
goods brand provides various work discounts in UK such as gym memberships. The UK
based Coca Cola enterprise recognized the need for tackling this issue by with generous
discount offers, off days at work, gym memberships, and more to keep workers happily
engaged (Pandita and Ray, 2018).
 Make the Work Interesting Employers must identify the capacity to learn new skills for
their employees. Increasing the variety of tasks make work more interesting rather than
focusing on the same work on daily basis creates a monotonous environment. Giving
chances to employees to take on more responsibilities creates a sense of involvement and
motivation. Here Coca Cola plc efficiently succeeds in managing a good workplace culture.

PART — B
Different ways to motivate and engage employees
The motivation of employees is central to the successful growth of any business
organization. Employee motivation is a humane approach that management teams across all
businesses need to incorporate in their strategic plans. A motivated employee works better and
faster which increases the level of her/his job satisfaction that benefits the company (da Cruz
Carvalho and et.al., 2020).
Furthermore, research findings has also observed that employees experiencing intrinsic
and extrinsic encouragement at work along with daily upliftment tend to be more contented with
their jobs and supervisors than those members who get negatively impacted by an unhealthy or
discouraging workplace environment. Here are some ways through which Coca Cola promotes
employees at workplace in order to enhance their creativity and solidify their work commitment.
 Acknowledge, Recognize, Reward: Motivation like many other traits is a behaviour. The
workplace management needs to acknowledge and recognize various specific behaviours of
different employees. At times, even before work performance, employees should be
appreciated for their achievements in their previous job assignments in order to maintain
their portfolio of work excellence. The soft drinks brand efficiently acknowledges and
rewards its employees. Extrinsic rewards such as pay raise or prize distribution has a
temporary effect and over encouragement quickly fades away (Cassar and Meier, 2018).
 Developmental Growth Attitude: The managers or supervisors should adapt a career
development attitude towards their employees which will reflect the company's interest in
their staff's personal and professional advancement. Providing a career growth plan tells the
employees that the organization cares for them and wants their progression. This factor
promotes workers to faithfully contribute towards the company's goals. It also entails other
factors such as job security, management loyalty, and good working conditions. The Coca
Cola introduced a bold change in the last quarter 2019 for cultivating its employee potential
by focusing on human rights inclusion.
 Lead With a Vision. A good leadership attitude means that the leader keeps the people
informed about daily activities. A visionary leader not only communicates properly but also
offers the employees a mindful roadmap of the company's objectives according to which

tasks need to be done. This helps create an innovative working environment which reaps
high performance levels. The Coca Cola Euro-pacific organization implemented its
integrated work policies in consultation with their communication specialists to form small
working groups based on its internal analysis of employees' response to boost their
motivation (Štofová and Kopčáková, 2020).
 Flexible Work Life Balance: As an organization, it is important to keep in check the needs
and desires of all employees based on their individual working conditions and capacities.
This strikes a good work life balance. Some other flexible allowances regarding employee
motivation include offering sick leaves, due credit for work done efficiently, combining
work with sports and other co-curricular activities, etc.
 Good Working Environment: This is a significant aspect in order to boost motivation in
employees with the provision of a collaborative channel of communication for creating a
positive business environment. Coca Cola offers a good workplace which elevates the
performance levels and mood of its employees by making them feel energetic throughout the
day. The management should focus on enhancing better work surroundings to uplift the
working capacities of the employees in order to motivate them towards working with a
sound and fresh mind (Saeed and et.al., 2019). This eventually leads to better results and
high productivity.
Justifying why 'Recognition & Reward' method is advantageous
In light of the above explanation, the following points highlight the significant
advantages of timely recognition for employee motivation. This can include both intrinsic
(confidence building, emotional support, etc.) and extrinsic (rewards, financial benefits,
incentives, etc.) ways of appreciation (Lorincová and et.al., 2019). The same is accentuated
below in the organizational context of the Coca Cola company.
 Enhancement of Efficient Performance: Employees should be motivated intrinsically
thereby increasing their self-confidence and potential to work efficiently. The performance
index of the staff members rises with good motivational policies. This leads to an increased
efficiency in improved work performance abilities and the overall business output gets
benefited. The UK based international beverage brand continually initiates new
development programs to get peak performance out of its workforce. This includes

addressing budget reductions with increase in salaries, training forums, and incorporating
several gender diversity pledges (Rizki and et.al., 2019).
 Reduced Rate of Absenteeism: Appreciated and motivated employees tend to remain loyal
to the organization by reaching the workplaces on time and taking minimum to no leaves at
all. This motivated environment makes the work enterprise more attractive to the workers.
They will work harder, smarter, faster, and better than before. This encouraging attitude
leads to a reduced rate of absent employees and helps in securing a low level of employee
turnover threshold. The Coca Cola company faces a reduced rate of absenteeism of its
workers.
 Cordial Relations between Staff & Management: Another benefit of employee
motivation for the organization is the establishment of friendly and amiable relations
between the management and workers. Time to time encouragement of employees by the
general manager will lead to a friendly environment where the employees will be willing to
adjust and adapt to managerial or administrative changes.
 Stability and Productivity: Every individual possesses a distinguished skill-set which
should be recognized and rewarded as per employee performance. The workforce efficiency
gets increased which further leads to the procurement of better quality goods and services
(Soni and Rastogi, 2019). It is incredible how a simple tool of employee motivation through
recognition garners so many positive results for the concern.
 Good Labour Consolidations: Organizational motivation means happier and productive
employees which in turn generates efficient productivity of an enterprise. This leads to a
greater market share and ends up securing profitable and trustworthy partnerships. While the
scope of good market relations increase, the integrated working mechanisms of the
organization and its employees builds a healthy enterprise. The Society for Human Resource
Management granted Coca Cola organization with 'Strategic HR Leadership Award' for
driving performance with the help of a satisfied and energetic workforce (Jehanzeb and
Mohanty, 2018).

PART — C
Application of theoretical framework
There exists an array of motivational theories that offers invaluable insights into driving
workplace motivation and is critical for robustly engaging employees to the company's goals.
One such theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory which was developed by Abraham
Maslow which outlines five basic requirements for every individual that should be met either
personally or professionally (Navy, 2020). This framework is highly recommended among all
management teams including Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners for keeping their employees
satisfied.
Hierarchy of Needs Engagement Levels Highlights
PHYSIOLOGICAL DISENGAGED In Maslow's hierarchy of needs
based theory the physiological
factor is at the lowest rung of
the ladder. This covers the
basic survival needs such as
provision of food, water,
warmth, and rest which must
be addressed before moving on
to the next level. In the
organizational context of Coca
Cola, this includes good pay,
cafeteria and recreation time
given to its employees.
SAFETY NOT ENGAGED Next above the survival needs
is safety or security which
includes protection from
external threats and ensures
emotional well-being. Here

employees can be given safe
working conditions with job
security benefits.
SOCIAL ALMOST ENGAGED The third level comprises
socialization aspects catering
to people's love and
belongingness needs. This
consists of friendships, healthy
acquaintances, etc. to elevate a
sense of kinship.
Professionally it includes good
work relations and decent
associations.
ESTEEM ENGAGED The remaining two needs make
up the higher level hierarchy
starting with self-esteem and
confidence. When a person
feels acknowledged then it
leads to a positive self-image.
The Coca Cola plc's employees
avail this as the management
helps maintain their prestige,
status, and job title.
SELF-ACTUALIZATION HIGHLY ENGAGED Self-actualization comes at the
top of this pyramid and
contributes to a person's
motivational drive. This need
helps in the growth and
advancement of an individual.
In workplaces, this can mean

enhancing an employee's
potential with a challenging
job and praising achievements.
PART — D
Value based reflective statement
A critical and theoretical analysis of my work experience in this report assignment has
illuminated me with several credible insights into the crucial aspects of organizational behaviour.
I have realized the importance of lack of motivational factors among employees in the workplace
and how it harmfully impacts both the workers and the business organization. The different
topics that cohesively make up this report made me realize that there exists an analytical
approach towards handling certain critical issues that disturbs the management of people or
employees in a workplace environment.
Within the context of the chosen organization i.e. Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners I also
learnt some key aspects regarding the company's journey over the years and the way it has
efficiently handled the negative returns both in the form of either investments or its human
resource potential. Employees are an integral part of any organizational structure and keeping
them encouraged has proven beneficial to the company. In relation to motivation I learnt that it is
an integral behavioural feature that constantly needs to be monitored and tailored. Further down
the report the framework of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs-based theory helped me
realize that employees who are left unattended without their basic survival, safety, and social
needs being met face a discouraging organizational set-up. In contrast, when these needs are met
then they become positively influenced and in constant appreciation of their efforts by the
management the employees become more committed towards the company's goals.

I also reflected keenly on the exploration of the ways with which low motivation levels of
employees can be gauged and effectively managed. After much pondering over the discussed
issues and subsequent reflection of the report, I think that it seems wise to adapt to the
recommended strategy in this research study and adopting the employee motivation
methodologies in business functions would immensely help HR professionals and the
management to achieve the company's desired goals and objectives. I have gained these
insightful values through a comprehensive assessment of the factors behind the motivational
contribution of people and have discovered the functional theories that helps boost organizational
performance in the context of workforce management.
CONCLUSION
The above report has identified, defined and determined the various factors which
motivate employees at workplaces. It has also stated the negative factors influencing the
employee experience as a result of lack of motivation among employees in an organizational
setting. The report has conclusively outlined the significant impacts of such factors on the
workforce potential in the business context of the organization Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners
wherein the mentioned issue had been taken up and analysed within its business parameters.
Moving further down the report a key recommendation was also suggested in order to
eliminate the problem of low employee motivation and engagement. This was followed by a
tabulated description of Maslow's theory of motivation based on people's needs which can be
used to motivate employees. In conclusion the research study evaluated the valuable insights
gleaned from exploring workplace factors on the organizations and their respective staff
members with a reflective piece.

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