Employee Performance

Introduction

The importance of motivating employees cannot be gainsaid as far as the performance, profitability and overall sustainability of the company in the long-term and the short-term is concerned. Needless to say, different techniques have been devised to motivate employees, with offering rewards being one of the most commonly used. In this case, the employees would be ranked into excellent performers, medium and poor performers in a 20/70/10 ratio. However, the effects of this forced ranking may be contrary to the expected results. Indeed, it tends to de-motivate employees and demoralize them (Ivancevich et al, 2009). This is especially considering the fact that it is extremely difficult to measure a large number of workplace skills, such as communication, in which case rankings may end up being arbitrary and poorly connected to performance. In addition, the aspect of singling out the poor performers and making them fear about the future of their jobs would hardly inspire or motivate them rather it would only scare them (Ivancevich et al, 2009).

Equity theory explains force rankings and states that in instances where employees feel that they have been treated fairly, they have higher likelihood of being motivated, while workers that feel that they have been subjected to unfair treatment would be prone to feelings of demotivation and disaffection, which may result in substandard performance (Ivancevich et al, 2009).

Apart from using forced rankings in motivating the workers, it would be more preferable to pay attention to the things that excite them. On the same note, enhancing one’s listening skills and communicating more frequently with the workers would essentially make them feel more significantly more comfortable discussing with or approaching their managers and bosses with issues, thereby enhancing their job satisfaction and eve cut down on errors.

Case 7.1

Keeping track of the performance of the employees is of utmost importance as it allows for the determination of the instances where their performance is falling. On the same note, it is imperative that the underlying causes for the drop in performance are examined rather than simply concluding that the lackluster performance of the employee emanates from deficiencies in their personality traits or undesirable attitudes. In the case of Joe, his performance was previously impressive since his hiring a few months ago. However, it has dropped significantly in the recent times. The diagnostic model may be used to determine the plausible performance problems.

Both Joe and the boss agree on the need for the improvement of Joe’s performance. While Joe may not be earning an amount sufficient to cover for his family and personal expenses, there is no evidence that the problem in his performance emanates from being inadequately motivated. Indeed, the problem with his performance emanates from the fact that he is poorly motivated and may even have unrealistic expectations. Joe feels frustrated by the fact that the architects do not take his opinions pertaining to the manner in which the job should be done seriously, simply because he is yet to obtain a degree. Indeed, he expects that the architects will at least be cognizant of the fact that he is experienced in his work and could offer some insights into the same. On the same note, he feels that the fact that he does not have a degree makes him stagnate doing the grunt work and earning peanuts (being the lowest paid person).

Questions to Joe

Do you feel that your performance is below par?

O you feel that you have the necessary resources to perform the job?

Do you feel that the performance incentives are equitably distributed?

Do you feel that you have the necessary training to perform your job? If not, does that interfere with your capacity to perform your job?

Do you feel that the work assignments make the best blend for you?

What expectations do you have for the entity with regard to the work environment it provides?

References

Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., Matteson, M. T (2009). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw Hill