Motivating and Engaging Employees: A Comprehensive Guide for Managers

MANAGING AND LEADING PEOPLE
MOTIVATING AND ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................2
MOTIVATING AND ENGAGING EMPLOYEES.............................................................................3
DISCUSSION ON APPROPRIATE MODELS RELATED TO MOTIVATING AND ENGAGING
EMPLOYEES.............................................................................................................................. 9
MODELS AND THEORIES OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION.........................................................9
MODELS AND THEORIES OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT.....................................................14
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LINE MANAGER/LEADERS ROLE AND THAT OF THE HR
REPRESENTATIVE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE............................................................19
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 22
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 23
1

INTRODUCTION
The success of any business highly depends on its tactful management of human resources.
The driving force behind the actions as well as the behaviour of employees is motivation. It
inspires the individuals at work to take required actions in order to achieve the aim along
with fulfilling the need and also any expectation (Zhang and Bartol, 2010). Motivation also
helps in engaging the employees at the workplace and also ensures the knowledge, ability
and skills to perform the job and achieve higher work standard. This report represents the
critical analysis of the role of line managers in the organization as well as the relationship
between the line manager and HR representative for better management of human
resources in the organization.
2

MOTIVATING AND ENGAGING EMPLOYEES
DEFINITION
Employee motivation can be defined as the actions and activities to inspire the employee of
the organization to increase their energy level, creativity and commitment to their work or
job. Employee engagement is the extent of enthusiasm, dedication as well as emotional
commitment of the employee towards its organization (Cadwallader, et al. 2010). It also
represents the property of the relationship between the employees with its organization.
The organization has seen a collection of a large number of individuals who strive towards
the attainment of the common objective of the organization.
It is essential for any organization to motivate its employees and manage its people
effectively so that the company is able to reach out to the aims and objectives of the
organization and also succeed and thrive in this fiercely competitive environment (van Beek,
et al. 2011). There are various researches and studies that show the significance of the
motivation and engagement of employees at the workplace. The employees who are
motivated, responsive and engaged in their workplace are substantially productive as
compared to the employees who are unmotivated or apathetic.
If the employee of the organization is motivated to work hard or increase its performance,
the employees may feel engaged and are considered valuable for the company and thus is
more likely to work hard (Temminck, et al. 2015). The efforts of the workers and employees
contribute to the success and high performance of the company or organization in their
respective fields. It is also said by the scholars and peers that employees work for the
people not for the companies. Employee engagement in any organization is highly impacted
by the leadership style or management style of line managers.
Employees are motivated in order to ensure their high engagement and ultimately lead to
increased customer loyalty, enhanced profits, greater productivity and employee retention
(van Beek, et al. 2011). It is the responsibility of the line manager to align the interest of the
company in the interest of its employees. Employee motivation is directly correlated with
the employee satisfaction. The success and growth of the company can only be possible
when the employees are motivated and satisfied with their work.
3

SIGNIFICANCE OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
It is vital for the business to motivate its employees as the goals and objectives of the
business can be achieved through highly productive staffs that are motivated staff
(Temminck, et al. 2015). The level of motivation decides the level of the attitude of the
employees towards its organization. Motivation also helps in altering the negative attitude
into a positive attitude. The efficiency level of the employees is improved through consistent
motivation to reduce the wastage of time as well as resources.
The line managers at workplace create a supportive work environment through their
motivation which not only improves the relationship between superior and subordinates
but enables the employees to contribute their best efforts to accomplish organisational
goals (Skudiene and Auruskeviciene, 2012). The employees of the organisation who are
motivated stay supportive or cooperative in implementing the changes in the organisation.
As the motivated employees are satisfied due to the fulfilment of their needs and
expectation within the organisation itself, it reduces the employees’ attrition or turnover.
SIGNIFICANCE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
One of the most important variables in the majority of the organization is employee
engagement the employees who are better engaged with their employees make an
additional effort and are a quick learner and creative enough that enables the organization
to deliver the superior performance along with gaining competitive advantage (Robson, et
al. 2016). The customer satisfaction level, profitability and productivity and personnel
retention in any organization are indicated through the level of customer engagement.
The corporations constantly motivate the employees to take part in the activities of the
companies so that they feel a sense of connection with the company and believe their work
to be important for the organization, since the better employee engagement results in
better productivity and performance of the company around the market (Bhuvanaiah and
Raya, 2015). Employee engagement at work helps the organization to develop creativity and
positive attitude of the employees towards the company leading to increased satisfaction
level and less employee attrition. Higher employee engagement denotes higher employee
commitment towards its work and also towards the organization.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
4

Employee motivation is related to the inspiration of employees who brings a level of energy
as well as enthusiasm to their work at workplace whereas employee engagement is the
approach that represents the sense of willingness of enthusiasm among the employees
towards their work or job (Njoroge and Yazdanifard, 2014). It is essential to maintain the
balance between employee motivation and employee engagement to get the required
efforts for the success of the organization in the market.
It is observed that the employees that are intrinsically motivated are highly engaged
towards their work and always strive for mastering new skills and enthusiastic about
utilising their talents (Ferri-Reed, 2014). In the contradiction, the employees are extrinsically
motivated then it constantly needs to stimulate them to be productive. This approach
inspires the employee for the limited time period and may not be sustainable for the long
run.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
Motivation is classified in different ways and on different basis given below.
There are primarily two types of motivation that are intrinsic plus extrinsic motivation. It is
essential to understand the types of motivation as the motivational needs of each
employee’s vary from another (Temminck, et al. 2015). The line manager or HR
5
Types of
motivation
On the basis of
rewards or
punishment
Positive
Negative
On the basis of
self induced
motivation
Internal
External
On the basis of
financial
means
Financial
Non-financial
On the basis of
motivation
focus
Group
motivation
Individual
motivation