ABSTRACT
Organizations are looking for ways to improve their performances to meet their targets and adapt to the highly competitive work environment. An alternative is employee motivation. The study examines the relationship between employee motivation and firm performance using SSNIT as a case to test this relationship. A sample of fifteen (15) respondents were obtained via purposive sampling and convenience. Face-to-face interviews were conducted, and the data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. It was revealed that employee motivation is linked to performance at SSNIT. The organization employs both intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation and it utilizes predominantly the Performance Management System (PMS) to assess employees and motivational rewards are offered based on such scores. Moreover, the study identified challenges such as resource constraints, poor performance review and unfair promotion strategy.
Based on the revelation, the researcher makes recommendations for action by management including; exploring other approaches where other forms of incentives can be added on to the existing ones to boost employee performances. Also, management should increase the share of the organization’s budget on motivation and a consideration of the performance review system by adopting a holistic type such as the use of 360-performance review so that it is not skewed as reported by respondents. The study demonstrates the practical and theoretical consideration of motivation in the world of work.
SECTION ONE INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Gaining a competitive advantage is one of the key objectives for the success of an organisation in the dynamic business world of today (Dessler, 2017). Firms identify the nature of competitive advantage as the uppermost drive for them to survive in an industry that is aggressive. In order to accomplish this objective, firms depend on employees who are devoted, effective, highly motivated and efficient (Oncioiu et al., 2018). This has given much call to the importance of public service motivation [PSM] in literature by academics and practitioners. This call advises managers to accept motivation as a significant tool to concentrate on in order to survive in an aggressive industry (Bright, 2008; Perry, 2010).
According to Robbins, Judge and Breward (2016), motivation encompasses all work related behaviours and process that account for an employees’ need, drive, intensity, direction and sustenance of effort towards attaining organizational goals. Motivation is not a fixed trait but is an interplay of both internal state of an individual employee, the situational factors as it exists within the work settings as well as the broader social context (Cerasoli, Nicklin, & Ford, 2014). Motivation is a powerful construct that studies have shown it linkages with organizational outcomes which is of interest for any sustainable organization. These include motivation serving as a drive to influence firm performances, promoting high satisfaction, retention, engagement in prosocial behaviours, among others (Barbuto & Story, 2011; Mohsan et al., 2011; Sarmad et al., 2016).
Motivating employees becomes an effective tool by directors using either the intrinsic, extrinsic or both forms of motivation for inspiring employees and giving them confidence. Consequently, it is recognized and expected that when public service employees are highly motivated, public institutions greatly perform much better (Rainey, 2009). This is because employees demonstrate suitable behaviours in a particular institutional environment. This has led to the popular attribution that employees are the lifeblood of an organization in achieving goals and strategies (El-Homsi, & Slutsky, 2009). Also, when employees are motivated, they become productive, loyal, innovative, and produce quality results for works they are readily involved in (Robbins et al., 2016). On the contrary, employees that get low motivation are most likely to concentrate less on their job and probably lie to their managers and leave the organization if given another opportunity or chance (Galletta, Portoghese, & Battistelli, 2011).
