Employee motivation: Knowing what is expected of them helps to motivate staff

Date: 29/06/2012

Predictive analysis has shown that one of the main factors which contributes to employee motivation is staff being told what is expected of them.

The report has been published by ETS, which took the views of more than 3,000 members of staff from several different industries into consideration.

It found that going the extra mile – a key sign of an engaged employee – is further influenced by good leadership motivation from their managers.

On top of this in well motivated employees is those who feel they can communicate up the hierarchy successfully.

Samantha Arnold, business psychologist at ETS and author of the report, said: "Maximising the return from every employee is hugely important at a time when many companies need to do more with less people."

Identifying areas which need to be addressed in order to fully motivate staff helps to unleash their full potential.

Many traditional work structures are being broken down so that communication is freer and staff are more in charge of their own working practices.

This can be done through setting out what an employee should achieve so that they can work towards it.

The satisfaction gained from this is likely to spur them on and encourage them to do more for the company as they feel they know where they stand.

It is also easier to reward staff who go the extra mile when it has been clearly decreed what their role does and does not entail, as it can be recognised more readily.

Ms Arnold said: "The diverse sample of data used means that the findings from our analysis are representative of a wider employee population across companies of different sizes, operating in different industries."

Simple changes can make a big difference with regard to staff motivation, which is not something which comes about by accident.

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