Employee Motivation Strategies: A Bunnings Warehouse Report

This report analyzes motivational factors at Bunnings Warehouse and proposes strategies to enhance employee job satisfaction and performance. It identifies that most employees are only moderately motivated and suggests implementing workshops and training to help employees realize their potential and address weaknesses. The report also emphasizes the importance of recognition and incentives, along with building brand equity through ethical business practices and marketing. Financial motivation, including competitive wages, is crucial, as is a fair hiring process and provision of adequate infrastructure. The report critically evaluates these strategies, highlighting the need for transparency, equal opportunities, and a focus on long-term career growth to improve employee retention and overall engagement at Bunnings Warehouse.

Running head: MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AT WORK
Motivational Factors at Work
Name of the Student:
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Author Note:

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Introduction:
Bunnings Warehouse being one of the leading firms in the retail and manufacturing sector
functions smoothly across its different locations and branches. It has a total strength of only sixty
employees and need to work on the policies and strategies it employs for maintaining and
retaining the employees and this paper effectively points out and suggests the strategies that the
firm can take up to promote greater engagement and motivation for the employees. All the
strategies are mentioned, critically evaluated and their effects are in turn studied in details in this
paper. The report has been used and studied in detail to provide the strategies that are used in
general by most organizations and are deemed appropriate for this organization. The research is
very important as it highlights different factors that can possibly affect the job satisfaction and
engagement in the employees. It considers every factor starting from demographics to income to
departments in which the employees work. The strategies recommended here are based on the
recommendations of the researcher provided in the report along with some other strategies.
Question 1
Based on the report, it can be asserted that most of the employees at Bunnings Warehouse are
only moderately motivated with a very small portion of the total employees who are highly
motivated and actually feel that they belong to this organization and their services are important
in rendering the growth and development of the firm (Pinder, 2014). In the report various factors
that propel the motivation of the employees and help them with achievement of both their
personal and professional goals. The report also analyses each of these factors and figures out
important recommendations that can help better the situation of the firm and improve the human

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relations base and improve the job satisfaction of the employees. This in turn will increase the
productivity and help in full utilization of their capacity and potential. The strategies based on
the recommendations and other strategies that could help out with the whole scenario at
Bunnings Warehouse are discussed in subsequent parts of this paper.
The most important strategy that is to be used and implemented for propelling job satisfaction
and motivation among the employees is the use of workshops, conferences and trainings that will
help them realize their worth in terms of the strengths they possess and help them to identify
their weaknesses or the loopholes on which they need to work. These processes should be
conducted in such a way that the participants amongst the employees are able to use and
channelize their strengths every day to reach their daily goals and objectives. They should also
be given training to overcome their limitations in terms of capacity. These programs should also
help define the long run growth and career development opportunities for these employees. This
will keep the employees motivated and they will feel the need to take up new responsibilities and
initiatives to make the workplace a better place. It will also increase their stress handling
capability and ability to use their capacities and potential to the fullest possible extent. The
workshops should provide them exposure and help them function comfortably outside their
comfort zones. This will help them to take up risks and explore new horizons and avenues of
talent and diversify their profiles. These methods will help to identify the performance gap and
work on the same with increased force and determination. This will help them satisfy their
esteem and self-actualization needs. This will instill in them a sense of belonging towards the
firm and make them motivated in a way that they will increasingly work towards unified
achievement of the company’s goals and objectives.

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The next strategy that can be used and should be used and is in fact used most of the successful
organizations for the promotion of motivation in the employees is the use of recognition in
different forms and also the use of incentives (Howard et al., 2016). This forms an advanced and
an very useful source of motivation both in terms of safety and increase of the sense and feeling
of belonging to the firm. Recognition in the form of awards and titles is a very widely used
process of instilling motivation in employees and making them believe that they matter. Some
office spaces also make use of social platforms to recognize and congratulate hard working and
efficient employees that indirectly acts as a source of motivation for employees that aspire to get
the same recognition and work towards the same through increased sense of responsibility and
competition. Other offices help the employees to recognize and acknowledge their hobbies and
inculcate in them the nature of practicing their hobbies alongside their work life and using the
same skills at work as and when needed. This is one of the activities and strategies that needs to
be implemented by this firm and that this firm lacks.
Another important source of motivation is the brand equity that the company holds. If the
company has a high brand value then the employees will automatically be motivated to work and
put in their very best at work on a daily basis (Swamy, Nanjundeswaraswamy & Rashmi, 2015).
This is why it is so easy for multinational corporations to retain employees as compared to less
famous firms. The only strategy that can be used to increase the brand equity value of the firm is
to undertake proper business ethics and also carry out the business development activities
rigorously through advertisement and marketing. For this firm this strategy can be easily used
and channelized as it has a huge base of clients and stakeholders and a brand image that makes it
famous all over New Zealand.

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The most and perhaps sometimes the only important source of instilling and instigating
motivation amongst employees is the use of financial motivational factors and techniques. The
hierarchy should be transparent and planned in such a way that each of the level of employees
gets paid enough according to his job profile or the expectations that the company holds from
him. The rates of the salaries should be planned in such a way that these are at the level of the
other competing companies. In cases where the company does not have a brand image of brand
equity value that is high, this factor is the only important way to instill motivation among all the
employees at different levels along with recognitions and incentives. This definitely forms a very
important strategy in all firms along with Bunnings Warehouse.
Lastly, the strategy that can help instill motivation and make the employees more satisfied and
engaged with their work life at Bunnings Warehouse is the selection process used for the hiring
of the employees in the first place and providing equal opportunities for both men and women at
work (Zhu, Gardner & Chen, 2018). The candidates who are deemed and understood to be
perfect for the role and the organization’s values as a whole should be hired irrespective of
gender constraints.
The other strategy that is to be used to instill motivation and job satisfaction among the
employees of this organization is the use of proper infrastructure and accommodation which will
help in taking care of the health and well being of the workers and in some cases their families
also (Kultalahti & Liisa Viitala, 2014). This feature becomes extremely important in the context
of this firm as it operates in the retail and manufacturing sector.
Question 2

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The strategies mentioned above can be implemented with increased force and should be used for
improving the situation of motivation and job satisfaction among the employees of Bunnings
Warehouse. A critical analysis of each of the strategies mentioned above is discussed in the
subsequent parts of this question.
The first strategy talks about the implementation of workshops and training processes that will
help in increasing the potential of the employees and help them to address the performance gap
of the business as a whole by using their strengths and weaknesses in a channelized and well
decided framework. To critically evaluate this strategy, it is important to know about the
implications expected out of this strategy. It has been found in most studies that this strategy
helps to critically evaluate and inject processes that lead to informed calculation based on which
performance of the employees can be improved. Training and capacity development helps the
human resource to maintain an accord of how much potential is being utilized by the employees
and how it can be used further to fully exploit the capability of these employees. The research
itself highlights how with a little effort and push from the managers can itself propel the job
satisfaction of the employees as they are themselves able to witness how their hard work is
paying them off and how they are important for the growth of the firm through their contribution.
The effectiveness of the second strategy depends upon the types and forms and also the
frequency of recognition provided to the employees. In this context it is very important for the
management to maintain transparency in terms of performance records and hierarchy so that all
the employees are well informed of the structure in which they will be getting incentives or
recognition in the form of awards. The number of awards should be equally distributed
throughout the entire financial year and should include a wide range of varieties. This will help
all the teams and the various strata of employees to have their expectations fulfilled which will in

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turn provide them job satisfaction. The internal political factors should be checked and should
not be allowed to interfere with or prohibit the growth of any employee. In other words, there
should be an equal gamut of opportunity for all the teams operating across different branches of
the company.
To critically evaluate the third strategy mentioned it is important to note that this is inevitably a
factor that helps in driving employee motivation just like it helps in gaining customer trust or
building long term relationships with the stakeholders of any firm. The longevity of staying in
the job is assessed by the researcher and the results claim that majority of the workforce have
worked for a period of only two to four years and only a very small section of employees have
worked for a maximum period of five to ten years maximum. Most of the sample employees
have suggested that they did not find a reason strong enough to stay back in the organization for
more than a period of four years on an average as they did not understand the importance of the
work they were and its contribution towards their career growth. This suggests that the firm
needs to build a strong brand equity value to retain the employees. However, this strategy could
be difficult to implement as it takes a considerable amount of time and only happens in the long
run. This firm is quiet an old firm and already has quiet a good brand value and so this strategy
might not be the most effective one to be applied in this case.
Needless to say, money and wages form a very important motivational factor for all firms across
the world and hence is highly applicable in this context. So the strategy of providing enough
financial resources and wages is very important for this firm. The research shows that permanent
terms of employment and increase in the amount of wages forms a very important source of
motivation and job satisfaction for majority of employees. Job satisfaction increases with the
factors that guarantee a fixed pay at a level that is competitive and at par with the market rates of

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wages. Increases of the amount of wages of the loyal employees who are both efficient and
experienced is very important for maintain stability and reducing training and hiring costs and
motivating the employee at the same time.
The next strategy will also help the employees feel motivated about work and help them to think
themselves as a part of the firm and align their personal goals with the goals of the firm. A
proper hiring process will help evaluate the needs of the company and compare them with the
attributes of the candidate and help assess if he will be a perfect fit for the firm. If the candidate
is deemed to be perfect for the role, he will inevitably be motivated and satisfied with the job
offered to him and his role. Critically evaluating this strategy helps understand the importance of
the hiring process and initiating changes required in the same.
Lastly, the strategy of looking after and bettering the levels of infrastructure and promoting the
betterment of health of the workers though important and beneficial is instilling job satisfaction
and motivation is minimally important and only applies indirectly. This is so because the sector
in which Bunnings Warehouse operates is not exposed to any major hazards or threats to health.
However, even then the firm needs to take of the safety and security issues including the working
hours and provisions like work from home and providing health related benefits above the
normal compensations and wages. This will instill the feeling of protection among the employees
and help them be satisfied with the daily life they develop while working at Bunnings
Warehouse.
Question 3
All or most of the strategies mentioned based on the recommendations will help in some way or
the other to improve the quality of working at Bunnings Warehouse and instill greater motivation

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and job satisfaction among the workforce and also help hire the correct nd right fir of employees
for this organization. It will improve the health of the workers and hence ensure greater
productivity and a sense of belonging to the firm. The two strategies that are most important and
can be a source of pivotal change to the company are those of financial motivation and the
conducting of important workshops and conferences that will propel the enthusiasm and capacity
development for the workers. The process of hiring the best fit for the firm is important and
crucial as it will help the employees at a fastened pace to profile and sell themselves using the
company’s growth and productivity by putting forth their own contribution to that growth. The
capacity development and exploitation of the same capacity will help the employees to function
outside their comfort zone and reduce their performance gap which in turn will help to address
the problems the business faces and help in providing better services to the customers. The
assessing of the productivities of the employees before and after the providing of efficient
training and development workshops will itself show the impact of this strategy. The brand
equity and value improvement of the firm’s name through expansion and transformation will
improve the confidence of the employees and help them to identify themselves as a part of that
brand. Improvement of the health and safety measures will also help improve the confidence and
the amount of productivity more than the usual level and this will help in retaining healthy and
confident employees. Promoting activities that brings the employees close and collaborates
different ideas and experiences will help to help to keep the employees engaged not only with the
work and the organization but also with one another and promote a sense of appreciation among
each other. Recognition can also help the employees to gain insight as to the importance of their
work and their own role and contribution towards the firm’s growth. According to the research
conducted the equal amount of opportunities for both males and females forms a very important

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motivational factor. In fact, the results suggest that these factors cause more motivation in
women and the number of loyal and motivated women employees is way more than that of male
employees. This will help the firm to decide on the amounts of productivity that they can
hypothesize and expect in a particular financial year. Thus it is observable that all the factors and
strategies are inter-related and help in propelling and advancing the level of productivity of the
firm. All the strategies aim at bettering the financial status and standard of living of the
employees and workforce. This automatically takes care of the financial, security related,
belongingness and esteem needs.
In the absence of the implementation of these strategies, the amount of growth will continue to
be like before or even fall lower than the current level of growth. It will not increase the
productivity of the employees. Neither will it help retain the employees due to lack of wellness,
job satisfaction and motivational factors. The number of temporary employees will increase and
that of the permanent employees will fall. Employees will not be able to identify where they
need to use their strengths and how they can overcome obstacles in terms of their own
weaknesses and unforeseen stress that arises due to the changing market structure and demands
of the consumer base. The issues that the firm faces in terms of employee motivation and
retention will not be solved.
To conclude, it can be summed up that there are various factors that affect the motivation levels
and the retention of employees at the workplace. These factors vary from one workplace to the
other depending upon various factors. Also, the concept of human relations management is
flexible and can be approached from various angles and depends upon the perspective of the
employers and the employees. It is important for the hiring body in a firm to posses the skills that
understand the traits of the candidates and chose only those who are considered to be a perfect fit

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for the role. All the strategies mentioned above focus on ultimately bettering the lives of the
employees through initiatives that are constructive and holistic. They are inter-related with one
another and focus on the growth of the firm along with the growth of the careers of each
individual employee. Implementation of these strategies will definitely lead to well figured
results that will suggest a scenario that is better than before.

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References:
Howard, J., Gagné, M., Morin, A. J., & Van den Broeck, A. (2016). Motivation profiles at work:
A self-determination theory approach. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95, 74-89.
Kultalahti, S., & Liisa Viitala, R. (2014). Sufficient challenges and a weekend ahead–Generation
Y describing motivation at work. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 27(4),
569-582.
Pinder, C. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.
Swamy, D. R., Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Rashmi, S. (2015). Quality of work life: scale
development and validation. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 8(2), 281.
Zhu, Y. Q., Gardner, D. G., & Chen, H. G. (2018). Relationships between work team climate,
individual motivation, and creativity. Journal of management, 44(5), 2094-2115.