Theories on how to motivate your employees.

Since the dawn of management, managers everywhere have been faced with the same problem: How to maximize job performance and keep employees happy at the same time.  The following three theories have stood the test of time and are considered by many to be expert.  As a business manager or owner, this information may help you improve your own management style.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:  Maslow theorized that some needs must be met before others.  For instance:  A person in danger will seek to get out of the immediate danger before worrying about avoiding dangers in the future.  As a manager, it pays to  understand which needs your employees must have met before they can reach the highest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy (which happens to also provide the highest level of job performance). 

Maslow's Theory

Herzberg’s Two Factor: Herzberg believe that job satisfaction (high job satisfaction has been show to lead to high job performance) could be broken down into two parts, job dissatisfaction and job satisfaction.  Job dissatisfaction deals with is determined by “Hygiene” factors.  Hygiene factors relate to the environment of the work place.  A clean, safe, and comfortable work place leads to no job dissatisfaction.   Job satisfaction relates to “Motivators”.  Motivators relate to the specific person.  If a manager praises an employee’s performance in front of other employees, the praised employee will feel good about his work and will strive to work harder in the future.  Herzburg placed a higher value on meeting Hygiene factors before Motivator factors.

Herzberg Theory

Equity Theory:  Adam felt that employees’ rewards (pay, bonuses, etc.) should be based on employees “Inputs” to the company.  If two employees’ Inputs are (relatively) the same, they deserve to receive (relatively) the same outcomes.  If the rewards or outcomes are different, the lower compensated employee will become dissatisfied with the situation and adjust his effort (input) downward until he feels that his inputs equal his outcomes.  According to Adam, managers must keep the balance for all employees to avoid mass job dissatisfaction.

 Equity Theory