HR Performance Issues and Motivation
Introduction

A performance issue that has occurred in the past was the problem of getting employees to volunteer for the fund drive. At the local radio station, the non-profit organization depends upon its seasonal fund drive to make the money it needs to stay in business. Because the radio station is the only one of its kind in town—it provides classical music 24/7 along with NPR talk shows—it is viewed as a valuable contributor to the local arts scene. Many wealthy donors contribute but the station also relies on loyal listeners to contribute every spring, summer, fall and winter as well to keep doors open and staff employed. Staff find the fund drive to be tedious and demeaning as they never feel that enough appreciation is shown them for all the extra hard work it requires of them. They have to work longer hours, be available to take calls, and do tasks that fall outside their normal job description. The work is considered “volunteer” but management makes it clear that if anyone shirks his duty to “volunteer” he will not be employed for long. This rubs many employees the wrong way and performance during the fund drives has been falling in recent years as employees have no enthusiasm for the job and do the bare minimum required of them during the week-long fund drives that occur four times a year. They do not actively promote the fund drive, do not greet callers warmly, do not engage with the public donors who come to the station for tours and generally act like they would rather be anywhere else. HR needs to find a way to motivate the workers and increase performance levels.

Maslow

Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs model provides the basis for his theory of human motivation by showing that what motivates human beings is the need to have their needs met. The most basic needs come first: shelter, food, love, esteem, and these lead gradually up the pyramid towards the apex, which is self-actualization. The more self-actualized one is, the more likely that person is to be motivated to succeed and to perform at a high level without any need for external or intrinsic motivators: the person is self-motivated (Gerhart & Fang, 2015). Vroom (1964) built on this idea by developing the concept of expectancy theory—i.e., that people expect there to be outcomes associated...…and then the focus on the culture of growth—i.e., creating values in the workers that celebrate community service and appreciation for the public. This will then allow the workers to see what values they should be pursuing.

Conclusion

The importance of applying a motivational theory to a performance issue at work can be seen in this case study example. The management team at the radio station was unclear as to why workers were not motivated to participate in the fund drive that occurred every season throughout the year. The managers did not apply the Maslow model of needs and so they could not tell that the workers lacked esteem and that if they were just shown more appreciation, they would feel more confident about themselves and be more willing to engage with the public, take calls, and be better performers. By applying the theory of human motivation developed by Maslow, management would be able to successfully motivate the team, get the workers to buy in to the importance of the fund drive and develop them into self-actualized employees. Incentives and culture development would be the ways to do this, and HR could have a hand in shaping both approaches.