Employee Issues Dialogue: Analysis Of Motivation And Reward Management

Introduction and Context of the Issue

Discuss about the Employee Issues Dialogue.

In the contemporary workplaces working condition management is given paramount importance. All the top employers give high emphasis on the development of the working condition so that the employees stay in a content state of mind and gel will to provide the best possible service to a company (Dulebohn et al., 2009).  There are number of factors which are related to the betterment of an organisation especially the welfare of the employees working in the organisation. In the recent past there are few key issues which have crept up in the organisational operation who have the capability to put pressure on the organisation and might hinder the overall organisational performance. For instance workplace agreements and industrial relations is a key aspect which has changed the way employees are handled (Donaghey et al., 2011).

The impacts of industrial relations and workplace agreements have been debated significantly in Australia. It could be said that most of the companies in Australia are focused on providing better opportunities to the employees but they have somehow lost edge due to the globalised market. For instance in the retail industry Woolworths is one of the effective companies in the country Australia with almost 700 supermarkets all across the world but in the recent past it has faced significant competition from companies like David Jones Limited, Foodland Supermarkets, IGA et cetera (Noe, 2010). The company has had issues with the employees as well especially with motivation and reward management aspect. Reward and motivation are complementary to each other and hence it is important that Woolworths focuses to emphasise on them to improve their employee relations. Given the present scenario Woolworths is the best possible case to be taken for the study (Juholin et al, 2015).

Reward and motivation naturally helps to develop the relationship between the employers and the employees. It naturally helps to boost the employees to perform their best for the company. Employees nowadays are highly extrinsic in nature and focus on getting rewards and prizes which is the best way to motivate the employees. In the recent past Woolworths have had problems with the employee motivation due to the lack of revamp of its reward management system which has started to put questions on the role of the company in motivating its employees (Ruck & Welch, 2012). It could be said that Woolworth’s revised decisions regarding motivation management reward policies have affected the operational system of the organisation.  This issue has currently put pressure on the business due to the lack of motivation of the employees on the organisational operation (Karnes, 2009). It has put pressure on the contemporary workplace like Woolworths. The role of reward and incentives have been long been argued to have both kinds of effects on the mindset of employees which clearly means it has significant impact on the employee relations in the company (Stone et al., 2009). For motivation and reward management there are certain internal HRM factors which are responsible and they are:

Micro Level Analysis of the Issue

The overall understanding of the HRM regarding the quality of the workforce is a key aspect. The HR department of the organisation should have an excellent understanding of the employee base so that they are able to frame rewards and incentives effectively as per the standards (Gupta & Shaw, 2014).

The inability of the Human Resource Management to understand or link the organisational objectives with the rewards and incentives set for the employees. It could be said that this factor might hinder the framing of the reward and incentives in the company (Meyer & Maltin, 2010).

Another key reason have been the inability of the HR department of the company Woolworths to understand how to reward individuals and still promote teamwork. This factor has significantly affected the business as teamwork couldn’t be promoted in the company as reward management and motivational concepts could not be properly conveyed and utilised (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). This has created significant gap between the employees and the company especially those who have not been exposed to reward or any kind of incentives for the work.  This has affected employment relations significantly with the employees and hence needs to be taken care of in order to ensure effective organisational performance. The distance between managers and employees starts to extend. Hence it is important to have a better procedure for the management of motivation and reward system (Hung et al., 2011).

Recently Australia has come up with something which will boost the morale of many young people. From the age of 15 to 21 will be given incentives to find work or to study which involves the companies as well to encourage people and develop possibilities to improve them as an individual and as a professional (Rychly, 2009). The companies in the country are advised to act effectively to help this movement and due to this reasons most of the companies had to revamp their reward and incentives policy. It could be said that Woolworths have not been able to focus on the incentive structures which is naturally likely to create issues for the employees.  On the other hand the Federal Fair Work Act 2009 also advises all the companies including public companies to provide fair incentives to the employees for their work and their dedication (Clauwaert & Schomann, 2012). It is mandatory for all the companies to meet the different policies laid down by this legislation and in case the company deviates from the legislation it will not be working as per the standards laid down by the government which is likely to affect the business performance as there will be strong difference between employees and the company (Fichter et al., 2011). In the recent past Woolworths has faced significant problems with the employees as it has not been able to provide suitable incentives to all the performing employees due to its poor structure and this clearly leads to the problem. Hence it could be said that the above mentioned legislation is favorable for the employees and all the employers are bound to follow the guidelines regarding incentives and rewards as per the standard system of the legislation (Heyes, 2011). On the other hand the National Employment Standards should also be implemented in order to ensure that leaves and other employment benefits are effectively provided which has not been the case with Woolworths and this has affected the employees as well as their relations with the company.

Macro Level Analysis of the Issue

The present meeting has been organised in order to address certain grievances that has been brought into light by one of our colleagues who feels that the issues put forward by him is of utmost importance to the company as well as the workforce of the organisation.  The context which has been put forward by him is motivation. The employee Mr. Jonathan Marsh has stated that the company has not been able to take care of the reward system properly and this has led to demoralisation of him as an employee. Even though he doesn’t speak of the other employees but from his point of view having a reward system that is able to address issues equally is important for the company which he feels is not the case right now with Woolworths Ltd. As the Senior HR Manager of the organisation I feel it is necessary as the representative of the workforce of the company to eliminate all the confusions as well as the grievances that the employees have, and also to ensure that there is no possibilities of turmoil within the organisation. As the employee of the company as well as the representative of the organisation I felt it is extremely important to understand the problems of the employees which might create performance gap and though Mr. Marsh I think we will be able to focus on eliminating the issues relevant to employee performance. I would like to introduce to the honorable panel of senior executives who are here to preside over the meeting:

Mr. Paul Clarke (Senior Executive Operations)

Mr. David Miller (HR Director)

Mr. Peter Tanner (Member of the Board of Directors).

Jonathan (Employee): Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you people. Well I don’t know whether I am eligible enough to come and talk to people of your stature, but in this small tenure that I have been with the company I found out, we are free to put forward our views for the betterment of the organisation as well as for the personal development of the employees. So, I kind of gathered courage to bring one of the most important issues to bring to your notice that employees or to say I consider important for the development of the company as well as for personal development.

Mr. Tanner (Member of BOD): You are definitely free to put it forward as long as it is for the best interest of the organisation.

Part B

Employee: Thank you for your kind words, but Sir, in the recent past I have noticed that I am personally falling short of motivation to work for the company.

Mr. Tanner: and, why is that? I mean you must have a reason.

Employee: I feel that I am not being properly considered for incentives and rewards in spite of putting my best possible performance (pauses).

Mr. Clarke: Why do you exactly feel that you are not being treated properly for incentives? Was there any kind of ill-treatment which has not been brought to our notice? If yes, have you personally suffered any kind ill treatment from the managers?

Mr. Tanner: The basic point is what is it that makes you think there has been prejudiced action within the work environment?

Employee: Sir, I think the problem is weak reward management system. As monitoring of the performances are done properly. I personally feel that I have done enough for the development of the organisation continuously treating consumers effectively but I have been neglected and deprived of incentives. I have not got any increments in the last one and half years which I feel completely unjustified even after getting appreciation from my immediate manager for the work. This has created conflict with some of my colleagues who have received better treatment than me in terms of incentives. I personally feel very demotivated and often think of leaving the organisation.

Mr. Miller: Okay Mr. Marsh we have got the records of your performance of the last 14 months which has highlighted your approach to the company. It clearly shows your loyalty and dedication. I personally will take care of the problem and will make sure to identify employees like you who have not been treated properly so that it decreases the growing rift between the employer and the employees. This is a unanimous decision from the panel and I promise you to take care of the matter and scrutinise the issue.

Mr. Clarke: Having gone through your performance report I could clearly understand the agony. As an organisation we do not want any of our loyal employees to leave us or to have a wrong notion towards the reward system of the organisation. It seems that your increment has been the subject to mismanagement in the system which would be straightaway fixed up. I will personally scrutinise the appraisal system and ensure that people like you are recognised for your contribution for the company.   Mr. Marsh it’s clearly right of you to think about leaving the job, but I will assure you that from now on the company will take care of all the possible troubles that you or any other employee will have. We will reinstate the mid level management to look into this matter which will be personally headed by me. I believe this problem is not solely your problem and many other employees might feel like this which might create the problem of employee turnover.

Introduction and the Context of the Meeting

Mr. Tanner: This is a very important point raised by Mr. Clarke. We do not want any of our employees to leave the job for stagnated growth. Woolworths is known for its great customer service and for that we need people like you. I have already planned to bring this subject to the notice of the Board of Directors who will further decide the possible solutions for the employees.

Mr. Miller: On that note I would like to add that since you have been very concerned about motivation to work with the company the panel has decided to take your matter, in fact all the employees who are doing well would be considered for increment. The list will be announced soon and you will be notified. Legally your contracts with the company will be made permanent as per the Employment Law in Australia you have crossed your probation and hence you will be considered for being permanent with the company with revised emoluments. Wish you luck.

Employee: Thank you, for showing concern towards us. This is probably the best form of motivation that one employee can get.

Mr. Miller: it is an announcement that the management will declare to the employees that being vocal about problems will ease our problems. Thanks.

Conclusion

The senior managers involved in the meeting have employed an effective communication theory where they mainly listened to the candidate with the problems and showed effective managerial skills to motivate him to start work and employed the negotiation strategy with a soft approach by promising the employee to take care into the matter and address the grievances of the employees similar to Jonathan Marsh.  The present conversation also showed that listening is a great approach to make the other person standing on the opposite side is a great approach to analyse and solve issues especially regarding motivation and reward system (Fakhfakh et al., 2011). The seniors had had a wonderful strategy to handle the matter. They practically showed the management knowledge and implemented them on the present matter effectively. Employee turnover is a big problem for every company and there was clear hint that the employee was inclined to leave the job due to lack of incremental opportunities. The managers played it very well clearly communicating their views and future plans for the employees which clearly assured the employee. They also promised to look into the matter quickly which has also helped the employee to get back its lost faith on the company. It was a masterstroke to promise the employee permanent employment with the company which will obviously be based on the performance of the employee but it was an effective strategy for employee retention and instant encouragement as permanence in the company will ensure revised emolument structure with ESI, PF and incentive structure instantly improving which effective motivational strategy implemented on the employee (Gupta & Shaw, 2014).

It could be said that most of the employees nowadays are extrinsic in nature and want motivation which is provided by the extrinsic motivational factors like cash incentives and increments. Hence promising the employee in such a way has acted positively towards getting him back to business for the organisation. A soft negotiation has been implemented within the organisation which has helped the company to develop better communication of the employees with the company and this will give out positive result for the organisation in the future. Understanding the kind of employees the company is working with has helped the managers to deploy the strategy of creating extrinsic motivation by promising the employee immediate increments and development in the emolument structure that will make a spontaneous development of the employee behavior towards the organisation Clauwaert & Schomann, 2012). Overall it could be said that the present study has highlighted the different aspects of employee relation and its impact on the development of the employees and their behavior towards the company. Woolworths is one of the leading retail companies in Australia and it has to have a good rapport with the employees and so organising employee dialogue sessions are effective for the company to know about the grievances and hurdles which might hinder their performances.

References

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