Financial and Non-Financial Motivation
Two shops pay the same, but in one the staff work hard and in the other they watch the clock. See how businesses motivate people, with money and without, and how to pick the method that fits the workforce.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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What makes people work?
Two shops pay the same, but in one the staff are cheerful and work hard, and in the other they watch the clock. The difference is motivation: what makes people want to work well. Motivated staff are more productive, and a business that motivates people finds it easier to keep them. This module looks at how businesses do it.
Motivation words
Four ideas run through this module:
Two ways to motivate
Businesses motivate staff in two broad ways.
Match each method
- Commission
- Promotion
- Job rotation
- Autonomy
- Pay linked to how much you sell
- Being moved up to a more senior, better-paid role
- Moving between different tasks to add variety
- Being given more control over how you work
Why it matters
Why does motivation matter to a business? Motivated staff work harder and produce more, so productivity rises. They also take fewer days off and are less likely to leave, which improves retention and cuts the cost of hiring and training replacements.
Financial or not?
Which of these is a NON-FINANCIAL method of motivation?
- Giving a worker more autonomy over their tasks
- Paying a bonus for hitting a target
- Paying commission on each sale
- Promoting a worker to a better-paid job
Spot the non-financial
Select the TWO non-financial methods of motivation.
- Job rotation, moving between different tasks
- Job enrichment, adding more challenging tasks
- A bonus for good performance
- Fringe benefits such as a company car
Match each reward
- Remuneration
- Bonus
- Job enrichment
- Fringe benefits
- The basic pay a worker receives for the job
- An extra one-off payment for good work or hitting a target
- Being given more challenging, rewarding responsibilities
- Non-cash extras such as a company car or staff discounts
The road to promotion
Put the steps of motivating a worker through promotion into a sensible order.
- A worker performs well over time
- A manager reviews their strong performance
- The business offers them a more senior role
- The new role brings more pay and responsibility
- The worker feels valued and stays motivated
Pick for the workforce
A call centre keeps losing low-paid staff who leave for better wages elsewhere. Which method is most likely to help keep them?
- Better pay and a bonus for staying
- Rotating them between the same low-paid tasks
- Doing nothing and hoping they stay
- Making them work longer hours
Motivation in words
Paying a worker for the job they do is called _____. An extra reward for hitting a target is a _____, while pay linked to sales is _____. Giving a worker more control over their work is called _____. All of these methods aim to raise staff _____.
Motivating staff
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Commission is pay that is linked to how much a worker sells.
- Job enrichment is a non-financial way to motivate staff.
- A bonus is a non-financial method of motivation.
- Motivated staff are usually less productive.
- Autonomy means paying a worker extra money.
Choose the method
Match each business to a motivation method that fits. Choose each time.
- A shop wants to reward its sales staff for selling more. What suits best?
- A skilled software team is bored doing the same simple tasks and wants more of a challenge. What suits best?
- A factory wants its staff to feel trusted and to make more of their own decisions. What suits best?
Recommend and justify
A growing restaurant wants to motivate its kitchen and waiting staff. Recommend one financial and one non-financial method it could use, and justify which you think matters most for keeping staff.
- Name one financial method the restaurant could use
- Name one non-financial method it could use
- Explain how each method would motivate the staff
- Justify which method you think matters most for keeping staff