I found this article on the Globe and Mail entitled “What Motivates Employees? Its not just the money” and i thought I could relate this to my class in Comm 101 on People, Culture, and Teams, Human resource management, and also on my classes in Comm 292. The article claims that “we can’t single out one or two motivators and say: ‘These are the holy grail of motivation and inspiration'” and that “The idea that motivation is not a one-size-fits-all solution is a concept that many managers fail to grasp.”

I agree with the position of the article in these two points. In the example given in class on Zappos, the company did not just use one or two tactics two try to motivate employees. Rather, they revolutionized the office environment, making the office more relaxed, hosting office parties, having a less strict dress code and giving more autonomy to the employees.

The article also claims 10 top motivators for employees: achievement; learning; inspiration (the chance to inspire others); creativity; fun and enjoyment; improvement; financial reward; change and variety; identity and purpose; and stability. Zappos was able to capitalize on a number of these motivators that enabled them to motivate their employees.

The article also said that “If you motivate people properly, their job satisfaction and engagement improves. And when they are engaged and happy, they are more productive.” This is true because as we discussed in class, if employees are motivated, engaged, and happy, they are more likely to keep a positive attitude and take an extra step in helping the customer, and when this happens the customer also becomes happy with the service and is more likely to return to the store/business, thus increasing profit. Some jobs, as discussed in class, can have more difficulty in motivating the  employees, like call center agents, but it is still possible with the right motivators to motivate them.

Source:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/what-motivates-employees-its-not-just-the-money/article13205253/