In the past, employees were not given much of a thought, not more than just another input into the production of goods and services. Employee motivation was not the main concern of the managers.

However, as the time passed by the ‘Hawthorne Experiment’ a research conducted by Elton Mayo in 1924, basically changed the way of thinking about the employees. the study of Elton Mayo pointed out the fact that money does not motivate employees to use their full potential, but instead it is the employee attitudes that keeps them going and linked with behaviour. As a result, this gave rise to what is known as the Human Relations approach to management which lead the managers to focus mainly on the needs of employees and thus finding ways to motivate them.

Even though the managers began to concentrate on motivating employees thereafter, this was not an easy task to do, as understanding the employees and motivating them needed careful consideration. If not so ever, then the time and money spent on motivating employees may be of no use to the organization or the employee, if the employees were motivated the wrong way.As a result, to understand the whole concept of motivation and help the managers carry out the strategy, it is important to look into the theories of motivation, which developed soon after the study of the Hawthorne Experiment.

The motivation theories developed, as a  result of the researches carried out by the theorists focusing understanding what motivated employees and how they were motivated. Hence so, let us have a closer look at four of the good motivational theories that explains what motivates employees, in order to understand and do the best possible way to motivate them.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs Theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is one of the important theories that provide an insight to understand what basically motivates employees and how it should be done if the employees are to be motivated. Maslow identified five levels of needs. They are,

Self Actualization ( level 5 – highest level)

Esteem ( level 4 )

Social belonging & love needs ( level 3)

safety ( level 2 )

Physiology ( level 1 – lowest level)

These five levels of needs have to be satisfied if the employees are to be motivated. In other words, it is said that motivation is thus driven by the existence of these unsatisfied needs. Maslow pointed out the fact that, in order to motivate the employees, first of all the lower level of needs have to be met before the next higher level of needs. What he meant by this was that only once the lower level of needs have been satisfied the employee will be motivated to satisfy the next higher level of needs. For example,  an   is at the lowest level of the hierarchy will only be motivated by a good pay well enough to afford his basic needs rather than safety of his work area and stability of the job etc. As a result, the hierarchy of needs theory highlights the fact that employees do differ from each other, and if they are to be motivated it is thus vital to look into their needs first and then come up with the suitable motivation techniques effectively.

Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory

The Hertzberg’s two factor theory is another vital theory that provides the managers with a clear understanding to how the employees could be motivated. He also pointed out the fact that motivating employees are not just possible without the presence of intrinsic factors.

According to Hertzberg, he basically identified two separate groups of factors that had a strong impact on motivation. His first group of factors were the hygiene factors which consisted of factors such as the working conditions, quality of supervision, salary,status,safety, company policies, and administration. He tends to believe that the hygiene factors strongly influenced feelings of dissatisfaction among the employees thus paving way to affect the job performance. However, he also went into point out that the presence of these factors will not basically motivate the employees as such, but rather they are necessary to have them right in the first place, if the organization intends to motivate the factors. The second group of factors identified by hertzberg were the motivating factors. These included factors such as recognition,achievement, responsibility, interesting job, growth  and advancement to higher level tasks  etc. Accordingly, he went into say that these factors do bring job satisfaction among employees which will eventually lead to employee motivation.

Vroom’s Expectancy theory

Another theory that explained what basically motivated the employees was the Expectancy theory of Victor Vroom in 1964. Actually Vroom believed that employee effort will pave the way for job performance and thus job performance will lead to rewards. In other words, he highlighted the fact that  employees tend to believe that by putting effort it will lead to a good performance and likewise because of the good performance they will be rewarded. It is these rewards that motivate the employees. If the rewards are positive and welcoming , then obviously the employees will be motivated, or else if they turn out to be negative or not attractive then the chances of employees being de-motivated are very high indeed.

Adam’s Equity Theory

Adam’s Equity theory is a motivation theory that points out the fact that the mangers should seek a fair balance between the employees’ inputs( effort, loyalty, hard work, sacrifice,  etc) and their outputs ( recognition, status, salary, status etc), in order to motivate employees( Adams, 1965). He also stated that it is very vital to make the employee feel that he is treated fairly if the managers are to achieve positive outcomes and motivate the employees effectively. However, if the employees tend to feel that they have been treated unfairly meaning to say that their inputs are greater than the outputs, then they will be de-motivated.Ans this will no doubt reduce their inputs such as effort and hard work etc.

In conclusion,  the tasks of the managers to motivate the employees are indeed not that easy.This is because each and every employee has got their very own needs that tend to motivate them. However, the managers need to have some sort of  aknowledge that will help them to understand the employees well and think of better ways of motivating them. This is where the motivational theories come into considertaion. It is these theories that provide an explanation of how to motivate them based on what motivates them. The Hierarchy of needs theory and Hertzberg’s two factor theory deals with explaining how the employees are to be motivated by way of looking into their needs. On the other hand, Adams theory also helps the managers to understand that a fair balance between inputs and outputs of employees are important. The Expectancy theory too shows that rewards tend to motivate the employees. However, overall all motivation theories  do state that rewarding and recognising employees are important in order to motivate employees thus acting as the  foundation to motivate employees.

In the past, employees were not given much of a thought, not more than just another input into the production of goods and services. Employee motivation was not the main concern of the managers.

However, as the time passed by the ‘Hawthorne Experiment’ a research conducted by Elton Mayo in 1924, basically changed the way of thinking about the employees. the study of Elton Mayo pointed out the fact that money does not motivate employees to use their full potential, but instead it is the employee attitudes that keeps them going and linked with behaviour. As a result, this gave rise to what is known as the Human Relations approach to management which lead the managers to focus mainly on the needs of employees and thus finding ways to motivate them.

Even though the managers began to concentrate on motivating employees thereafter, this was not an easy task to do, as understanding the employees and motivating them needed careful consideration. If not so ever, then the time and money spent on motivating employees may be of no use to the organization or the employee, if the employees were motivated the wrong way.As a result, to understand the whole concept of motivation and help the managers carry out the strategy, it is important to look into the theories of motivation, which developed soon after the study of the Hawthorne Experiment.

The motivation theories developed, as a  result of the researches carried out by the theorists focusing understanding what motivated employees and how they were motivated. Hence so, let us have a closer look at four of the good motivational theories that explains what motivates employees, in order to understand and do the best possible way to motivate them.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs Theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is one of the important theories that provide an insight to understand what basically motivates employees and how it should be done if the employees are to be motivated. Maslow identified five levels of needs. They are,

Self Actualization ( level 5 – highest level)

Esteem ( level 4 )

Social belonging & love needs ( level 3)

safety ( level 2 )

Physiology ( level 1 – lowest level)

These five levels of needs have to be satisfied if the employees are to be motivated. In other words, it is said that motivation is thus driven by the existence of these unsatisfied needs. Maslow pointed out the fact that, in order to motivate the employees, first of all the lower level of needs have to be met before the next higher level of needs. What he meant by this was that only once the lower level of needs have been satisfied the employee will be motivated to satisfy the next higher level of needs. For example,  an   is at the lowest level of the hierarchy will only be motivated by a good pay well enough to afford his basic needs rather than safety of his work area and stability of the job etc. As a result, the hierarchy of needs theory highlights the fact that employees do differ from each other, and if they are to be motivated it is thus vital to look into their needs first and then come up with the suitable motivation techniques effectively.

Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory

The Hertzberg’s two factor theory is another vital theory that provides the managers with a clear understanding to how the employees could be motivated. He also pointed out the fact that motivating employees are not just possible without the presence of intrinsic factors.

According to Hertzberg, he basically identified two separate groups of factors that had a strong impact on motivation. His first group of factors were the hygiene factors which consisted of factors such as the working conditions, quality of supervision, salary,status,safety, company policies, and administration. He tends to believe that the hygiene factors strongly influenced feelings of dissatisfaction among the employees thus paving way to affect the job performance. However, he also went into point out that the presence of these factors will not basically motivate the employees as such, but rather they are necessary to have them right in the first place, if the organization intends to motivate the factors. The second group of factors identified by hertzberg were the motivating factors. These included factors such as recognition,achievement, responsibility, interesting job, growth  and advancement to higher level tasks  etc. Accordingly, he went into say that these factors do bring job satisfaction among employees which will eventually lead to employee motivation.

Vroom’s Expectancy theory

Another theory that explained what basically motivated the employees was the Expectancy theory of Victor Vroom in 1964. Actually Vroom believed that employee effort will pave the way for job performance and thus job performance will lead to rewards. In other words, he highlighted the fact that  employees tend to believe that by putting effort it will lead to a good performance and likewise because of the good performance they will be rewarded. It is these rewards that motivate the employees. If the rewards are positive and welcoming , then obviously the employees will be motivated, or else if they turn out to be negative or not attractive then the chances of employees being de-motivated are very high indeed.

Adam’s Equity Theory

Adam’s Equity theory is a motivation theory that points out the fact that the mangers should seek a fair balance between the employees’ inputs( effort, loyalty, hard work, sacrifice,  etc) and their outputs ( recognition, status, salary, status etc), in order to motivate employees( Adams, 1965). He also stated that it is very vital to make the employee feel that he is treated fairly if the managers are to achieve positive outcomes and motivate the employees effectively. However, if the employees tend to feel that they have been treated unfairly meaning to say that their inputs are greater than the outputs, then they will be de-motivated.Ans this will no doubt reduce their inputs such as effort and hard work etc.

In conclusion,  the tasks of the managers to motivate the employees are indeed not that easy.This is because each and every employee has got their very own needs that tend to motivate them. However, the managers need to have some sort of  aknowledge that will help them to understand the employees well and think of better ways of motivating them. This is where the motivational theories come into considertaion. It is these theories that provide an explanation of how to motivate them based on what motivates them. The Hierarchy of needs theory and Hertzberg’s two factor theory deals with explaining how the employees are to be motivated by way of looking into their needs. On the other hand, Adams theory also helps the managers to understand that a fair balance between inputs and outputs of employees are important. The Expectancy theory too shows that rewards tend to motivate the employees. However, overall all motivation theories  do state that rewarding and recognising employees are important in order to motivate employees thus acting as the  foundation to motivate employees.

Super Motivation.

Super Motivation is self sustaining, organization-wide, high motivation. There are 2 major components of human performance: ability & motivation. They are related as follows:

      Performance = Ability x Motivation

Ability means nothing unless it is used. When multiplied by motivation, ability comes alive!

All people without any exception have virtually unlimited motivational potential. This innate self-potential has simply been temporarily suppressed because most employees are working in environments that inhibit its suppression. 

In a Super Motivating environment, even those with formerly low levels of motivation will be able to excel, while those with higher levels of motivation will be able to realize their full potential. Although high motivation is not difficult to attain, it tends to be much more difficult to sustain. Motivation can be sustained only if it is built into the organization itself. This way, motivation will no longer be subject to the whims of people or the initiation of new programs that come & go.

The Super Motivation approach involves two parallel processes. The first is reducing de motivators; the second is adding motivators. The combination of these two processes will create dramatic improvements in the motivational climate of any organization willing to accept the challenge. De motivators include all of those nagging daily occurrences that frustrate employees & drain so much of their motivational energy. Motivators on the other hand does not include people, they are environmental conditions. 

Self-Motivation is the most powerful motivational force there is. It releases the latent motivational energy residing in all of us, & has the potential to energize extraordinary human performance. 

Highly motivated people possess their own internal incentives to act. They don’t wait for external forces to motivation them. Highly motivated people are invariably driven by strong internal desires.

According to Shad Helmstetter, “To motivate someone, anyone, to do anything, you must influence his emotions.” 

When positive thoughts arose positive / energizing emotions, large quantities of motivational energy are typically released. This in turn, energizes productive &, most importantly, creative behavior. Creative behavior manifests itself when employees go beyond the “normal” requirements of the job & take initiative to solve a problem, improve a work procedure, or give a customer extraordinary service. This is the kind of behavior that characterizes the highly motivated employees.

The motivating cycle goes something like this. Positive thoughts result in positive / energizing emotions which results in high energy. Once you consistently possess high energy in your place of work irrespective of the external conditions it culminates into productive / creative behavior. While enhancing productive behavior, the de-motivators which drain the talent & energy of the individual must be attacked. Thus, slowly & steadily you are winning the war on de-motivators.

The motivators have the awesome power to positively transform the context of work. They motivate because they increase desire. Motivators make people want to work, want to get involved, want to learn, want to achieve, want to gain recognition & so on. It is an active state. People who are motivated want to participate in life, not just be idle observers. 

For super motivation to work or create wonders one needs to go ahead with a super motivating planning. As work becomes more complex & competition grows keener, organization must become increasingly skillful at planning. It is becoming more & more apparent that “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

If planning is so essential, them why do so many smart people & organizations fail to plan? And why does the prospect of planning generate so little enthusiasm?

The reason is two fold: Most of use doesn’t know how to plan, & we are not motivated to do so. 

Formal planning requires time, discipline, procedures, paper work & commitment. It also requires people to adopt new behaviors that often lie outside their comfort zones. Given the widespread low motivation to plan, it should not be surprising that most of us find it much easier to take immediate action & worry about the consequences at a later date. Thus, to go ahead with super motivation you not only need to know how to overcome resistance to planning but also know how to achieve high involvement planning.

Once the planning process in place, the next is the revitalizing the production system which is a motivational challenge facing any organization. Production is what most employees are paid for, & what employees spend most of their time doing. Everybody, in every organization, is in involved in some form of production work. It is the value-adding process through which something of less value is converted into something with more value.

After the high productive systems are put in place the next step is to transform the communication system openly & powerfully. Approximately 80% of our waking hours are spent in some form of communication. Communication involves not only effective communication amongst members but also a superlative writing & listening skills. When the communication is good, relationships tend to be positive; when it is poor, relationships also tend to be poor. When people are communicating effectively, nothing is impossible.

Once the communication aspects are taken care of, the next aspect is investment in training their employees. Training systems in large organizations generally offer a wide range of developmental activities, including new employee orientation, job-skills training, continuing professional education, supervisory & management development, interpersonal skills training, conceptual skills training & even the basic skills training. Regardless, of the methods used, the training system in any organization is aimed at enhancing the collective competence of the workforce.

After the training, the next step is the evaluation. However, it is not evaluation itself that is the problem; the problem is how evaluation is used at work. In other contexts, such as in sports & games, evaluation is highly motivating. In fact, evaluation in sports is so motivating that enthusiasts spend endless hours studying evaluation statistics, even memorizing them. So why can’t evaluation be motivating at work? The answer is: It can.

Once the evaluation system in any organization gets successfully drawn the next step is the reward. Many organizations are increasingly discovering that not only are traditional rewards becoming extremely limited in their ability to motivate today’s workforce, but they are also extremely costly. Just as with other organizational systems, motivationally transforming the reward system requires looking at it with a fresh, new perspective. The most important question to ask in evaluating the reward system in your organization is, “Do the rewards elicit the kind of performance management desires?” 

Rewards of low cost, creative rewards to tell employees how much they are appreciated, such as following.

Refreshments. Meals. Gift certificates. Magazine subscriptions. Books, audiotapes, videotapes. Memberships. Personalized items. Work environment. Training. Sports. Transportation. Commendations.

If one starts using a small proportion of these concepts & principles as enunciated above, one should be able to increase the effectiveness of the organization scientifically & significantly. So make the Super Motivation happen by following some of these guidelines & principles. 

Super Motivation definitely shall increase productivity & profit; it won’t add a penny to your costs. There is no doubt in our mind: World-class organizations need world-class motivation-& the most successful organizations in the future will be SUPER MOTIVATED.

Super Motivation Approach = Putting Super Motivation into Action which is comprising of

Super Motivating Planning Super Motivating Production Super Motivating Communication Super Motivating Training Super Motivating Evaluation Super Motivating Rewards Super Motivation: Making it happen.   

(The said article has been written by Iyer Subramanian. Presently attached to Bombay Chamber of Commerce, Ballard Pier, Mumbai). 

1. Why Choosing a Professional Motivational Speaker is so Necessary

Find a professional, motivational speaker with a proven ability to motivate and you can be assured your meeting will have the success all of your hard work will rightly deserve.

A professional motivational speaker can turn ‘average’ event evaluation scores into superlatives such as, ‘brilliant, fantastic and superb’.

Correctly motivate your delegates and you will receive credit for helping to instil in them an internal energy that determines all aspects of their future behaviour. This is why hiring a professional, motivational speaker is so important.

2. Watch out for the ‘Pretend’ Motivational Speaker

It is essential you understand that any Tom, Dick or Harry can legally call himself or herself a motivational speaker. So simply finding someone listed as such on a website, or in a business directory, is no guarantee as to his or her ability to motivate an audience.

Would-be motivational speakers are inventing themselves on a daily basis. They see the perceived success, and other associated privileges that a top international, professional, motivational speaker appears to have, and think along the lines ‘I could do that – easy money, travel to exotic places, fast cars, top hotels etc’. Ask a top motivational speaker if that is fair reflection of their lifestyle and he or she is likely to reply ‘If only’. So what do you need to look out for in your search for a motivational speaker?

3. Sourcing a Top Motivational Speaker

Type motivational speaker into a search engine and you can expect many million hits. This, of course, only partially helps you in your quest for the perfect motivational speaker for your event! How many days have you set aside for this task? If you are thinking in hours, rather than weeks, then you are advised to read on:

Choosing a short list of potential motivational speaker candidates from the first two or three pages of a search engine listing seems, and is to some extent, a logical way to proceed. However, there are further issues that are worthy of your consideration:

4. Do I Directly Contact a Motivational Speaker or go via an Agent or Bureau?

Motivational speaker agents and bureaus represent the majority of the best, professional motivational speakers.

Agents are only interested in someone who is already established as a top motivational speaker. They proactively promote the motivational speaker, putting a speaker’s name forward to conference organisers and the like. They charge a fee to the motivational speaker for this service, usually based on a percentage of the motivational speaker’s fee for the occasion. For effective ‘numbers’ management reasons, the choice of motivational speaker found through an agent, can be limiting.

Bureaus tend to be dedicated to providing conference organisers, corporations, associations, and educational institutions with a large selection of professional motivational speakers from which to choose. Too much choice can be their biggest disadvantage.

A so-called Motivational Speaker, good or bad, experienced or amateur, will also often represent their own interests, and so it may be useful if I now provide a few tips on how to identify an established, professional motivational speaker of quality from a large pool of the Johnny-come-lately brigade.

5. With a Quality Motivational Speaker Talent Will Shine Through

Top position for a motivational speaker on search engines usually fluctuates from one day to the next, so compose a short-list from the first two or three pages, and you are ready to begin.

It is worth of bearing in mind that sponsored links for a motivational speaker are there because someone is prepared to pay, sometimes-large amounts, to jump to the front of the queue of motivational speakers. Whereas this is an admirable indication that they are prepared to invest in advertising, it does not necessarily follow that you will receive the best value for your money. Here is an easy way to narrow down your short list:

6. Establish the Experience of the Motivational Speaker

Retype that which you originally searched for, into the search engine, and add one of the names you have recorded in your short list e.g. Motivational Speaker + His or Her Name.

Now you can better determine whether that particular motivational speaker has the expertise you require. You will also have an indication as whether or not an agent or bureau represents them as a motivational speaker.

7. Carefully Research the Motivational Speaker Testimonials

Any motivational speaker, worthy of consideration, will have a selection of testimonials from previous clients available for you to view on his or her website. Ensure companies and individuals are named. Descriptions such as ‘A senior manager at a large well-known company said….’, are of little to no value, and should start alarm bells ringing. Look for named sources from quality companies. Such individuals are usually very selective about which motivational speaker they are prepared to recommend as their own reputation could be on the line.

8. Can the Motivational Speaker Motivate?

It may sound obvious, but the most important trait required by a motivational speaker is an ability to motivate. Tragically, some meetings organisers have previously discovered, to their considerable cost, that it does not necessarily follow that a professional motivational speaker can motivate.

Nor can it be assumed that someone described as a ‘celebrity motivational speaker’ can be expected to somehow inspire your audience by simply turning up on the day. Talks provided by a top motivational speaker are carefully structured and based upon a science that is studied by few and practised by even fewer.

Ensure your choice of motivational speaker has proven credentials, and don’t assume that members of a related, professional body, are somehow qualified and suitable. Minimal experience as a motivational speaker and the price of a membership fee are all that is required, in qualification, to becoming a member of some such organisations.

Being published on motivational techniques, through a reputable source, is a good indication of the expertise needed to work as a top motivational speaker. Use the method described in Tip 6 above to obtain a quick and easy result.

Ideally, watch videos of the motivational speaker performing, and listen to the audience reaction to determine whether he or she has a rapport with the audience. Rapport and humour are essential ingredients in the motivational speaker cake. If, when watching video clips provided by the ‘motivational’ speaker, you are not laughing, then your audience are not likely to laugh either! Laughter is an essential part of motivation.

9. Cost Issues Regarding a Motivational Speaker

Ideally you should have some idea of a ‘speaker fee’ budget before commencing your search for a motivational speaker. The costs in hiring a motivational speaker can vary dramatically and are dependent on the location of venue, numbers of delegates attending, the duration of the required motivational speech and the quality and popularity of the motivational speaker. My advice is this – if your meeting is worth holding it is worth investing in an experienced and proven, motivational speaker. Paying the little bit more often produces an immensely worthwhile investment.

Whether you deal with the motivational speaker direct, or through an agent or bureau, should purely be a matter of choice. In theory the fees of the motivational speaker, quoted from an agent, bureau or motivational speaker, should be the same.

If you are interested in a celebrity motivational speaker you are unlikely to find direct contact details for that person, and your only line of enquiry will need to be through an agent or bureau specialising in celebrity motivational speakers.

Agents that actively promote a motivational speaker have a good idea of the fee normally required to secure a motivational speaker’s services and will share that figure with you when you make your initial enquiry. It is wise to obtain an all-in-fee from an agent.

A bureau’s commission is normally obtained from the motivational speaker. This commission can vary but normally falls between 15% and 30% of the fee for the appearance of the motivational speaker. If they do not have a particular motivational speaker on their books they are usually happy to trace them and make any arrangements on your behalf.

Few professional motivational speakers work with only one agent or bureau. If there is no mention of exclusivity on promotional material you can assume there is not. This, in effect means, that if you come across a motivational speaker of your choice, and he or she supplies contact details, this is an implied permission for you to contact him or her direct and independently negotiate a motivational speaker fee. Your aim should be to obtain value for money.

10. Information Normally Required by a Motivational Speaker.

If you are contacting a motivational speaker direct, and you have researched him or her as advised, you will be confident in knowing you are speaking with the right person for the job.

Should you decide on taking the agent or bureau route, the first thing you need to make perfectly clear, for the reasons described in Tip 8 above, is that you are seeking a motivational speaker.

Next supply the date of the event. A top motivational speaker is usually very popular and you can save yourself a lot of time, and disappointment, by establishing their availability early in the proceedings. It is perfectly acceptable to ask if you can provisionally hold a particular motivational speaker for a few days until a final decision is made.

Good meetings organisers will usually provide a description of the objectives and purpose of a conference, venue, size and type of audience and the duration of the talk required by the motivational speaker. You also need to clearly state what you expect from the motivational speaker.

By way of example you might say ‘at the end of your motivational talk I want the delegates to be laughing and enjoying the meeting. They need to have been entertained, educated, motivated and inspired to eventually return to their place of work and put into action some of the great tips we will be providing at other times during the conference’.

The best motivational speakers provide tried and tested presentations that are skilfully adapted to fit in with the theme of your meeting and will usually meet your requirements fully. For your own peace-of-mind obtain a written agreement of the terms agreed and, where possible, a guarantee of total satisfaction from the motivational speaker.

To Summarise – What’s Needed to Source a Top Motivational Speaker

a) Use a search engine to source a motivational speaker.

b) Produce a short-list of potential motivational speakers.

c) Establish the credibility of the motivational speaker by including their name and area of expertise in a further search of the web.

d) Where possible watch videos of the motivational speaker in action to determine whether they establish a rapport with the audience and their overall style of delivery is as required. Laughing is an essential part of successful motivation.

e) Check the motivational speaker for quality by researching named testimonials provided by his or her previous clients.

f) Contact the motivational speaker, agent or bureau and establish availability, cost etc.

g) Supply the necessary information needed by the motivational speaker.

h) Obtain some form of contract with the motivational speaker that includes a guarantee of satisfaction were possible.

So there you have it: my tips on sourcing a motivational speaker. I wish you every success in your search for a motivational speaker and the meeting you plan to hold.

Before we go into look at the four major content theories of motivation  developed by the theorists,  it is thus vital to have a general  understanding of what  content theories  are in the first place. Hence so,  the content theories also known as the ‘needs theories’ are  based on the needs of the individuals. In other words,  these theories basically explain  why the needs of the humans  keep changing overtime  thus focussing on the specific factors that motivate them. By doing so, what they try to explain is that the needs of the individuals should be taken into consideration, and thus  be satisfied in order to motivate them. To say, if these needs of the individuals are not met or satisfied,  then it is unlikely that the people will be motivated to perform the tasks in order to meet the goals and objectives. Having said that, let us now look at each of the four  content theories separately.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

The Hierarchy of Needs theory is one of the four  major content theories developed by Ibrahim Maslow in the year 1943. This theory is based on the fact that it is the unfulfilled needs that leads to motivate the individuals. It also provides an understanding to why the needs of the individuals keep changing overtime and the importance of identifying what each and every individual is after in terms of their needs. This is because, it probably gives an insight to what exactly are the individual needs that have to be met,  in order to motivate them. Having said that, Maslow  identified five levels of needs which are basically the,

Self Actualization ( level 5 – highest level)

Self Esteem ( level 4 )

Social belonging & Love needs (level 3)

Safety ( level 2)

Physiology ( level 1)  

According to Maslow, these five levels of needs have to be satisfied  if the individuals are to be motivated. In other words, it is said to believe that motivation is thus driven by the existence of these unsatisfied needs, meaning to say that unless they have fulfilled  their needs there are motivated to do so. However, his idea was that in order to motivate the individuals the first higher level of needs have to be satisfied before the next level of needs. And  only once the lower level of needs are satisfied the next level of needs will act as a motivator. For example, a person who is dying of hunger will at first be motivated to fulfil his hunger by earning wages/salaries . But once his basic needs are satisfied,  then this will no longer act as a motivator , but thereafter it is only the second level of needs such as  a good and safe working environment etc that will lead to motivate him. To say, Maslow pointed out the fact that satisfying  the individual needs is a step by step process that should follow from the lowest level to the highest level of needs and only satisfies  one level of needs at a time.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

Herzberg’s Two factor theory is another major content theory that focuses on the individual needs of the people. According to Herzberg, he basically identified two separate groups of factors that had a strong impact on motivation. His first group of factors were the hygiene factors which consisted of factors such as working conditions, quality of supervision, salary, status, company policies and administration. What he tend to believed was the fact that hygiene factors strongly influenced feelings of dissatisfaction among employees thus paving way to affect the job performance. He also went in to say that the presence of these factors will not motivate the employees as such, but rather it is necessary to have the hygiene factors right in the first place if the employees are to be motivated. What actually meant by this was that, if these hygiene factors are not present in the organization then it is not quite possible to motivate the employees thus because it is these factors that act as the foundation for the motivating factors to be effective. For example, without a good and safe working environment it is no use giving responsibility to an employee because the chances of motivating him are very low.

 Having said that, the  second group of factors  identified were known as the motivating factors which consisted of factors such recognition, achievement, responsibility, interesting job and advancement to higher level tasks as and growth etc. Herzberg believed that the motivating factors do satisfy employees which will eventually lead to employee motivation. But he also went into say that in order for the motivating factors to act there have to be the hygiene factors present.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

The ERG theory is another form of content theory developed by Alderfer. This is also based on the needs of the individuals. To say, the ERG theory was  proposed  thus thinking that it will basically overcome the limitations of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. However, this too is in the form of a hierarchy but only comprising of three levels. In other words, unlike the Maslow’s theory  which has five levels of needs the ERG theory has simplified the levels of individual needs in to just three levels. The three levels of needs identified by Alderfer  are,

Existence ( Physiological & Safety needs) Relatedness ( Social & External Esteem needs) Growth ( Internal Esteem & Self-Actualization needs )

Alderfer  basically  reduced the number of levels in his hierarchy thus combining each of the levels together. In other words, the first level in his hierarchy was formed by grouping both the physiology and safety needs together. Then he combined the social and external esteem needs as the second level and last  of all the internal esteem and self-actualization needs as the third and final level. However, he went into say that  the first level of needs which is existence still have the priority over the other two levels of needs. And hence, the order of the needs may not exact be the same for all individuals and thus could rather change depending on the individual. It doesn’t always happen that the individuals are motivated  to satisfy the lower level first in order to go to the next level as in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. For example, an individual will be motivated to perform the tasks because  of his need for recognition is fulfilled rather than for a safer working environment. Unlike in Maslow’s hierarchy, the ERG theory allows for different levels of needs to be pursued simultaneously. He further went into say that, according to his theory the individuals may expect to satisfy a higher level of needs and those who are unable to  satisfy that level ( frustration regression process) will eventually be frustrated and look to satisfy the lower level that seems to be much more easier to satisfy in order to  motivate them. This will motivate the individuals for the moment with the hope that they could satisfy the higher level in the times to come. In such situations, it is thus important for the employers to identify this and help them to satisfy the lower level of needs in order to motivate them.

McClelland’s 3 Needs Theory

The 3 Needs theory also known as the Acquired  theory or the Learned theory, is another content theory developed by McClelland around 1961.  Like the other content theories, this theory is also based on the needs of the individuals. In his theory, what McClelland tries to explain is the fact that motivation of an individual could basically result from three dominant needs. The three dominant needs identified are,

The need for achievement The need for power The need for affiliation

According to McClelland, human motivation is thus dominated by these three needs. In other words, some individuals will look for tasks that will help them to  achieve something, paving way to  motivate them. Likewise some others  may need power and some may look for affiliation. However, he also went into say that even though all these  needs are present in each and every individual, there is basically one need that dominates the individuals when it comes to most people. For example, an individual will want to achieve certain things, will want to maintain good  relations  with others but at the same time, more than anything  else they may want lead the others in order to motivate them.

The need for Achievement

Having said that, the need for achievement basically means  the extend to which an individual wants to perform tasks that are difficult and indeed challenging. To say ,  in order to motivate an  individual  with a need for achievement  they probably have to be given difficult  and challenging tasks. They will basically go to achieve goals that are challenging and realistic. In other words, what they really want is success and positive feedback, avoids both the low-risk and high-risk situations, and prefer to work alone rather than in a team with other high achievers. That way, they really tend to be  motivated if they happen to believe the tasks they are given to perform are indeed challenging.

The need for power

Likewise, individuals with the need for power will basically want to lead the others. This may be two types meaning to say personal and institutional. . In other words, some individuals will look for personal power while the other may need for institutional power. Individuals with a need for personal power will thus want to direct and influence others. What actually mean by this is that, if they are not allowed to lead the others then they probably will be de-motivated. Saying that, individuals with a high need for institutional power wants to organize the efforts of others for the success of the organization. For example, individuals with the need for institutional power are more likely to be motivated if they are provided with status oriented positions, managerial posts and leadership.

The need for Affiliation

And to say, individuals with the need for affiliation basically look for good, friendly  interpersonal  relationships with others. In others words, they really want to feel like that they are accepted by others and liked by others, they basically strive to maintain good relationships by way of trust and understanding, they prefer cooperation more than competition, As a result, individuals with a high need for affiliation do prefer to work as a team and work in customer service  environments which will lead to motivate them.

And finally, it should be said that all of the content theories are based on the fact that in order to motivate the people their needs have to be satisfied or fulfilled. Individual need do vary from one individual to another, and that is why it is important to understand these theories properly in order to motivate the individuals effectively.

 

By shameena Silva

Before we go in to look at what Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation is in the first place, it is thus vital to understand what motivation is and why is it important to motivate employees. Hence so, motivation could be defined as the driving force within individuals that encourages them to go ahead and perform the tasks, in order to achieve their intended needs and expectations. In other words, it is a set of reasons that eventually drags an individual to perform a particulat task convinicng that they could fulfil their needs and expectations, once the task is performed.

How is it possible to motivate employees ? and Why ?

Motivating employees is not an easy task, due to the fact that what motivates employees seems to change overtime. To say, different employees are motivated in different ways according to their needs. For example, one employee will be motivated to do his task by way of responsibility, while on the other hand another employee will be motivated by monetary rewards.  However, it is possible to motivate an employee only if they want to be motivated. As a result, it is thus vital to identify the reason and create the atmosphere that encourages the non-performing employees to refresh and motivate themselves. In other words, it is thus important to try and find out what really motivates the employee. Trying to motivate an employee by wrong means could thus lead to a waste of money, time and so on, while paving way to de-motivate the employee more.

Having said that, highly motivated employees are considered to be true assets for any organization. Once motivated, they basically tend to be more productive, energetic, and very mush eager to take on additional responsibilities, and thus pleasant to be with and work with. Howvever, on the other hand it should be said that there also tends to be non performing employees as well almost in every organization. Therefore, in such circumstances they basically have to look for deal with the obstacles by going and identifying the unmotivated employees and turning them around if the organizations are to be successful. In spite of that, when it comes to motivating employees this could be done intrinsically or extrinsically by using either intrinsic or extrinsic rewards.

Intrinsic Motivation

when it comes to intrinsic motivation, this basically means that employees are motivate to do a particular task because of the pleasure or satisfaction that they get in performing the task itself. In other words, intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual rather than from extrinsic rewards such as monetary incentives etc. An employee who tends to be intrincically motivated could be motivated by internal factors such as recognition, responsibility, growth and advancement. If an employee is to be motivated by intrinsic rewards, then this means that what the employee really wants is a job that interests him, a challenging work environment, and  the responsiblity to perform the task  etc in order to motivate him. For example, an intrinsically motivated person will perform a task given to him willingly, either because he might find the task challenging or else interesting and satified with completing it. To say, and not with the intention of getting other rewards. This is due to the fact the external rewards hardly motivate these employees. As a result, intrinsic motivation tends to be very much effective in the long run as the employees perform the tasks willingly because it interests them, rather than trying to escape from it once the job is done.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is when the employees are thus motivated by means of external rewards. External rewards bacically consists of monetary incentives and grades etc. The employees are involved in performing a particular task is because of the external rewards that gives them satisfation and pleasure, and not because they are interested in it. In other means, extrinsic motivation drives an employee to do things specially for tangible rewards or pressure, rather than for the fun of it. Extrinsic motivators can be either positive or negative. To say, it is thus possible to use positive motivators such as monetary rewards or negative such as threats or bribery to motivate them extrinsically. Extrinsic motivators basically focusses the employees on rewards rather than actions. For example, employees will perform tasks though they are not quite interested in it, thus because of the rewards involved with it. To say, some people will not want to do the work willingly, but rather they are motivated to do so by external rewards. However in reality, extrinsic rewards do motivate employees only short term. This is because the extrinsically motivated employees will do their work only as long as they receive their rewards and therafter will stop performing the tasks, once the rewards are no longer there.

What is the most effective way to motivate employees ?

Having looked at both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, it could be said that intrinsic motivation is far stronger than extrinsic motivation when it comes to motivate employees in the long run. This is because the intrinsically motivated employees will continue to perform better day after day as long they find the work interesting and satisfied.  It doesn’t mean that extrinsic motivation should not be used, but this is not the ideal way to long motivate the employees. To say, extrinsically motivated employees will only find what they do to interesting as long as they receive the rewards which can either be positive or negative. And hence in order to motivate them to increase performance, then they will have to be given more rewards than before. If not, they will only be de-motivated. Not only that, but once the employees are given extrinsic rewards they will no longer be intrinsically motivated, but rather depend on rewards to keep them motivated therafter. That is why it is vital to try and motivate employees intrinsically by trying to explain how it will help them to develop and encouraging them by offering more challenging work, giving responsibility and recognition for the work done etc. This will in turn lead to enhance performance by motivating them to meet the long term success.