EMPLOYEE- COMPANY RELATIONS

Sanya Talwar 8141

Tanushree Piplani 8105
(BBS 2C)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to our teacher,Ms. Noita

Sharma. Without her constant, untiring & unfailing support and
guidance, we would not have been able to complete this marketing
project.

We wish to acknowledge all the authors and experts whom we

extensively referred to, as without their researches and analysis, this
project would not have come to fruition.
PREFACE
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Tanushree Piplani and Sanya Talwar of BBS have

successfully completed their Public Relations Project Report the topic
“Employee Company Relations”
The project was undertaken in October 2010.

OBJECTIVE

Employee Relationship Management is important as it will improve

productivity by improving: 
- Employee morale 
- Employee loyalty 
- Employee turnaround 
- Employee communication 
- Employee change readiness 
CHAPTER PLAN

1. Introduction
2. Employee Relationship Management
3. Recruitment and Selection
4. Motivational Theory
5. Training and Development
6. Using Effective Communication
7. PR and Employee Relations

METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
Employees are one of the most important publics a company has, and an ongoing public
relations program is necessary to maintain employee goodwill as well as to uphold the
company's image and reputation among its employees. The essence of a good employee
relations program is keeping employees informed and providing them with channels of
communication to upper levels of management. Bechtel Group, a privately held complex of
operating companies, published an annual report for its employees to keep them informed
about the company's operations. The company used employee surveys to determine what
information employees considered useful. A range of other communication devices were
used, including a monthly tabloid and magazine, a quarterly video magazine, local
newsletters, bulletin boards, a call-in telephone service, and "brown bag" lunches where live
presentations were made about the company. Suggestion systems are another effective way
to improve employee-management communications.

Other public relations programs for employees include training them as company public
relations representatives; explaining benefits programs to them; offering them educational,
volunteer, and citizenship opportunities; and staging special events such as picnics or open
houses for them. Other programs can improve performance and increase employee
motivation and pride. Public relations also plays a role in recruiting new employees;
handling reorganizations, relocations, and mergers; and resolving labor disputes

EMPLOYEE- RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Human Resource vendors as well as Customer Relationship Management Vendors are trying
to offer solutions for Employee Relationship Management. Employee Relationship
Management is a science as old as business itself. One of the first technologies to improve
employee relationship was the telephone and later the fax. So what is Employee
relationship management all about?

Defining employee relationship management is more difficult than defining something like
Customer Relationship management. The nature of the relationship between a company
and employee is far more complex than the relationship with customers. Customers simply
go off to competitors when the relationship is not working while unhappy employees can
remain for long periods in the company. Customers only experiences the company at some
key points of truth while employees are daily experiencing a relationship with their
employer. The employee experience the relationship with the employer from the moment
the employee enters into a workspace. Their moments of truth is overshadowed by a total
experience over a period of time.

A good relationship is a relationship where there is a reciprocal exchange of value between

two parties. Both parties must want to be part of that relationship and contribute to the
relationship to work.

Employee Relationship Management will improve productivity by improving:

- Employee morale
- Employee loyalty
- Employee turnaround
- Employee communication
- Employee change readiness

The problem with a relationship is that it is much like an iceberg. The visible part of the
relationship is only the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water level. Most of the
factors that determine the quality of a relationship is beneath the water. All these are done
with the aim of improving productivity rather than interacting with employees.

CAN TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP IMPROVE EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS??

Technology has already contributed to improving employee relationships:

- Companies already employ HR systems to ensure that employees get paid out the correct
salaries on time
- HR system allows employees to manage training as well as their leave.
- Advance companies have performance measurement systems that assist with the
monitoring and feedback of performance by linking it to bonus schemes.
- Work flow systems help to manage and coordinate the flow of work to and from
employees.
- Organisational structure diagramming helped to make reporting lines and responsibilities
clear.
- Business information management technologies provides employees with up to date
information.
- Knowledge management technologies help employees to share knowledge of what is
happening in the company.
- Email, company portals and electronic calendars are already tools in use in most
companies.
- Chief Executives have use blogging as a means to directly communicate with employees.
- Online self training courses helps employees to stay up to date with the latest
developments in the industry

These technologies improved efficiencies rather than relationships. The question is: "Can
these technologies really help to improve employee relationships?" I think they can if these
technologies are integrated and shaped around the needs of each employee.

A company will benefit only from Employee Relationship Management technologies if there
are clear guidelines and rules of how these technologies should be used. A culture that
values the employee must pervade the organisation before these technologies can begin to
make a positive contribution. Without a clear management adoption of employee centered
values these technologies can become a destructive force which spread a negative morale
rather than a positive one. Employee relationship management tools breaks down the
dependency on hierarchical command and control systems and introduces more and more a
self organizing culture of employees that are networked to collaborate on points of need.

Technology can definitely assist but old style interpersonal skills and conflict resolution
techniques are still forming the baseline requirements for effective Employee Relationship
Management.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

 The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department and
recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the
recruitment strategic advantage for the organisations. Recruitment process involves a
systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the
interviews and requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as
follows:
 Identifying the vacancy:
The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving requisitions
for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain:
• Posts to be filled
• Number of persons
• Duties to be performed
• Qualifications required
 Preparing the job description and person specification.

 Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees
(Advertising etc).

 Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics.

 Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates.

 Conducting the interview and decision making

1. Identify vacancy

2. Prepare job description and person specification

 3. Advertising the vacancy

4. Managing the response

5. Short-listing

6. Arrange interviews

7. Conducting interview and decision making

The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final
interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment
formalities.

Recruitment is of the most crucial roles of the human resource professionals. The level of
performance of and organisation depends on the effectiveness of its recruitment function.
Organisations have developed and follow recruitment strategies to hire the best talent for
their organisation and to utilize their resources optimally. A successful recruitment strategy
should be well planned and practical to attract more and good talent to apply in the
organisation.
For formulating an effective and successful recruitment strategy, the strategy should cover
the following elements:
1. Identifying and prioritizing jobs
recruitment keep arising at various levels in every organisation; it is almost a never-
ending process. It is impossible to fill all the positions immediately. Therefore, there
is a need to identify the positions requiring immediate attention and action. To
maintain the quality of the recruitment activities, it is useful to prioritize the
vacancies whether to focus on all vacancies equally or focusing on key jobs first.

2. Candidates to target
The recruitment process can be effective only if the organisation completely
understands the requirements of the type of candidates that are required and will be
beneficial for the organisation. This covers the following parameters as well:
o Performance level required: Different strategies are required for focusing on
hiring high performers and average performers.

o Experience level required: the strategy should be clear as to what is the

experience level required by the organisation. The candidate’s experience
can range from being a fresher to experienced senior professionals.

o Category of the candidate: the strategy should clearly define the target
candidate. He/she can be from the same industry, different industry,
unemployed, top performers of the industry etc.

3. Sources of recruitment
The strategy should define various sources (external and internal) of recruitment.
Which are the sources to be used and focused for the recruitment purposes for
 various positions. Employee referral is one of the most effective sources of
recruitment.

4. Trained recruiters
The recruitment professionals conducting the interviews and the other recruitment
activities should be well-trained and experienced to conduct the activities. They
should also be aware of the major parameters and skills (e.g.: behavioural, technical
etc.) to focus while interviewing and selecting a candidate.

5. How to evaluate the candidates

The various parameters and the ways to judge them i.e. the entire recruitment
process should be planned in advance. Like the rounds of technical interviews, HR
interviews, written tests, psychometric tests etc.

The organisations differ in terms of their size, business, processes and practices. A few
decisions by the recruitment professionals can affect the productivity and efficiency of the
organisation. Organisations adopt different forms of recruitment practices according to the
specific needs of the organisation. The organisations can choose from the centralized or
decentralized forms of recruitment, explained below:
 CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

The recruitment practices of an organisation are centralized when the HR / recruitment

department at the head office performs all functions of recruitment. Recruitment decisions
for all the business verticals and departments of an organisation are carried
out by the one central HR (or recruitment) department. Centralized from of recruitment is
commonly seen in government organisations.

Benefits of the centralized form of recruitment are:

 Reduces administration costs

 Better utilization of specialists

 Uniformity in recruitment

 Interchangeability of staff

 Reduces favoritism

 Every department sends requisitions for recruitment to their central office

 DECENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

Decentralized recruitment practices are most commonly seen in the case of conglomerates
operating in different and diverse business areas. With diverse and geographically spread
business areas and offices, it becomes important to understand the needs of each
department and frame the recruitment policies and procedures accordingly. Each
department carries out its own recruitment. Choice between the two will depend upon
management philosophy and needs of particular organization. In some cases combination of
both is used. Lower level staffs as well as top level executives are recruited in a
decentralized manner.

MOTIVATIONAL THEORY

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this
the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done!
Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines.
In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not
clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one
must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem!
Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation
of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore
effective management and leadership.
These articles on motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories regarding
human nature in general and motivation in particular. Included are articles on the practical
aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been undertaken in this
field, notably by Douglas McGregor (theory y), Frederick Herzberg (two factor motivation
hygiene theory,) Abraham Maslow (theory z, hierarchy of needs), Elton Mayo (Hawthorne
Experiments) Chris Argyris Rensis Likert and David McClelland (achievement motivation.)
Why study and apply employee motivation principles?
Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues
as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations
show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also
holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical
application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization.

Motivation is the key to performance improvement

There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it
will drink only if it's thirsty - so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise
motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the 'ivory tower' they
must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus.
Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated,
for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to
survive and succeed.
Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus:

 Job performance =f(ability)(motivation)

Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow
and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many
options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there
are broadly seven strategies for motivation.
 Positive reinforcement / high expectations
 Effective discipline and punishment
 Treating people fairly
 Satisfying employees needs
 Setting work related goals
 Restructuring jobs
 Base rewards on job performance
These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final 'recipe' will vary from workplace
situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individuals actual state and
some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap.
Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a
specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also
the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The
motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization.
In one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving 31,000 men and
13,000 women, the Minneapolis Gas Company sought to determine what their potential
employees desire most from a job. This study was carried out during a 20 year period from
1945 to 1965 and was quite revealing. The ratings for the various factors differed only
slightly between men and women, but both groups considered security as the highest rated
factor. The next three factors were;
 advancement
 type of work
 company - proud to work for
Surprisingly, factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given a low rating by
both groups. So after all, and contrary to common belief, money is not the prime motivator.
(Though this should not be regarded as a signal to reward employees poorly or unfairly.)

MOTIVATION THEORIES

1) Contribution of Robert Owen :

Though Owen is considered to be paternalistic in his view, his contribution is of a

considerable significance in the theories of Motivation. During the early years of the
nineteenth century, Owen’s textile mill at New Lanark in Scotland was the scene of some
novel ways of treating people. His view was that people were similar to machines. A
machine that is looked after properly, cared for and maintained well, performs efficiently,
reliably and lastingly, similarly people are likely to be more efficient if they are taken care of.
Robert Owen practiced what he preached and introduced such things as employee housing
and company shop. His ideas on this and other matters were considered to be too
revolutionary for that time.

2) Jeremy Bentham’s “The Carrot and the Stick Approach” :

Possibly the essence of the traditional view of people at work can be best appreciated by a
brief look at the work of this English philosopher, whose ideas were also developed in the
early years of the Industrial Revolution, around 1800. Bentham’s view was that all people
are self-interested and are motivated by the desire to avoid pain and find pleasure. Any
worker will work only if the reward is big enough, or the punishment sufficiently unpleasant.
This view - the ‘carrot and stick’ approach - was built into the philosophies of the age and is
still to be found, especially in the older, more traditional sectors of industry.

The various leading theories of motivation and motivators seldom make reference to the
carrot and the stick. This metaphor relates, of course, to the use of rewards and penalties in
order to induce desired behavior. It comes from the old story that to make a donkey move,
one must put a carrot in front of him or dab him with a stick from behind. Despite all the
research on the theories of motivation, reward and punishment are still considered strong
motivators. For centuries, however, they were too often thought of as the only forces that
could motivate people.

At the same time, in all theories of motivation, the inducements of some kind of ‘carrot’ are
recognized. Often this is money in the form of pay or bonuses. Even though money is not
the only motivating force, it has been and will continue to be an important one. The trouble
with the money ‘carrot’ approach is that too often everyone gets a carrot, regardless of
performance through such practices as salary increase and promotion by seniority,
automatic ‘merit’ increases, and executive bonuses not based on individual manager
performance. It is as simple as this : If a person put a donkey in a pen full of carrots and then
stood outside with a carrot, would the donkey be encouraged to come out of the pen ?

The ‘stick’, in the form of fear–fear of loss of job, loss of income, reduction of bonus,
demotion, or some other penalty–has been and continues to be a strong motivator. Yet it is
admittedly not the best kind. It often gives rise to defensive or retaliatory behavior, such as
union organization, poor-quality work, executive indifference, failure of a manager to take
any risks in decision making or even dishonesty. But fear of penalty cannot be overlooked.
Whether managers are first-level supervisors or chief executives, the power of their position
to give or with hold rewards or impose penalties of various kinds gives them an ability to
control, to a very great extent, the economic and social well-being of their subordinates.

3) Abraham Maslow’s “Need Hierarchy Theory” :

One of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation is the hierarchy of needs theory
put forth by psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow saw human needs in the form of a
hierarchy, ascending from the lowest to the highest, and he concluded that when one set of
needs is satisfied, this kind of need ceases to be a motivator.

As per his theory this needs are :

(i) Physiological needs :

These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth, shelter,
sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which fall in the primary list
of need satisfaction. Maslow was of an opinion that until these needs were satisfied to a
degree to maintain life, no other motivating factors can work.

(ii) Security or Safety needs :

These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job, property,
food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm.

(iii) Social needs :

Since people are social beings, they need to belong and be accepted by others. People try to
satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship.

(iv) Esteem needs :

According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to want
to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need produces such
satisfaction as power, prestige status and self-confidence. It includes both internal esteem
factors like self-respect, autonomy and achievements and external esteem factors such as
states, recognition and attention.

(v) Need for self-actualization :

Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to become what one
is capable of becoming, it includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment. It is
to maximize one’s potential and to accomplish something.

As each of these needs are substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. From
the standpoint of motivation, the theory would say that although no need is ever fully
gratified, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. So if you want to motivate
someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is on and focus
on satisfying those needs or needs above that level.
Maslow’s need theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing
managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic and ease of understanding.
However, research does not validate these theory. Maslow provided no empirical evidence
and other several studies that sought to validate the theory found no support for it.

TOP

4) “Theory X and Theory Y” of Douglas McGregor :

McGregor, in his book “The Human side of Enterprise” states that people inside the
organization can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative, which falls under
the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls under the category Y. After
viewing the way in which the manager dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a
manager’s view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of
assumptions and that he or she tends to mold his or her behavior towards subordinates
according to these assumptions.

Under the assumptions of theory X :

 Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt to avoid
it.
 Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or threatened with
punishment to achieve goals.
 Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are issued.
 Most workers place a greater importance on security over all other factors and
display little ambition.

In contrast under the assumptions of theory Y :

 Physical and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play.

 People do exercise self-control and self-direction and if they are committed to those
goals.
 Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exercise imagination,
ingenuity and creativity in solving the problems of the organization.
 That the way the things are organized, the average human being’s brainpower is only
partly used.

On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order
needs dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate
individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature,
the word “authoritarian” suggests such ideas as the “power to enforce obedience” and the
“right to command.” In contrast Theory Y organizations can be described as “participative”,
where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can
achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the
organization.

However, this theory has been criticized widely for generalization of work and human
behavior.
5) Contribution of Rensis Likert :

Likert developed a refined classification, breaking down organizations into four

management systems.

1st System – Primitive authoritarian

2nd System – Benevolent authoritarian
3rd System – Consultative
4th System – Participative

As per the opinion of Likert, the 4th system is the best, not only for profit organizations, but
also for non-profit firms.

6) Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory :

Frederick has tried to modify Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory. His theory is also known as
two-factor theory or Hygiene theory. He stated that there are certain satisfiers and
dissatisfiers for employees at work. In- trinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while
extrinsic factors are associated with dissatisfaction. He devised his theory on the question :
“What do people want from their jobs ?” He asked people to describe in detail, such
situations when they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. From the responses that
he received, he concluded that opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Removing
dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. He
states that presence of certain factors in the organization is natural and the presence of the
same does not lead to motivation. However, their nonpresence leads to demotivation. In
similar manner there are certain factors, the absence of which causes no dissatisfaction, but
their presence has motivational impact.
Examples of Hygiene factors are :

Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work conditions,
relationship with supervisor and company policy and administration.

Examples of Motivational factors are :

Growth prospectus job advancement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and

achievements.

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7) Contributions of Elton Mayo :

The work of Elton Mayo is famously known as “Hawthorne Experiments.” He conducted

behavioral experiments at the Hawthorne Works of the American Western Electric Company
in Chicago. He made some illumination experiments, introduced breaks in between the
work performance and also introduced refreshments during the pause’s. On the basis of this
he drew the conclusions that motivation was a very complex subject. It was not only about
pay, work condition and morale but also included psychological and social factors. Although
this research has been criticized from many angles, the central conclusions drawn were :

 People are motivated by more than pay and conditions.

  The need for recognition and a sense of belonging are very important.

 Attitudes towards work are strongly influenced by the group.

8) Vroom’s Valence x Expectancy theory :

The most widely accepted explanations of motivation has been propounded by Victor
Vroom. His theory is commonly known as expectancy theory. The theory argues that the
strength of a tendency to act in a specific way depends on the strength of an expectation
that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome
to the individual to make this simple, expectancy theory says that an employee can be
motivated to perform better when their is a belief that the better performance will lead to
good performance appraisal and that this shall result into realization of personal goal in
form of some reward. Therefore an employee is :

Motivation = Valence x Expectancy.

The theory focuses on three things :

 Efforts and performance relationship

 Performance and reward relationship
 Rewards and personal goal relationship

This leads us to a conclusion that :

9) The Porter and Lawler Model :

Lyman W. Porter and Edward E. Lawler developed a more complete version of motivation
depending upon expectancy theory.
Actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. But it is also
affected by the person’s ability to do the job and also by individual’s perception of what the
required task is. So performance is the responsible factor that leads to intrinsic as well as
extrinsic rewards. These rewards, along with the equity of individual leads to satisfaction.
Hence, satisfaction of the individual depends upon the fairness of the reward.

10) Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory :

Alderfer has tried to rebuild the hierarchy of needs of Maslow into another model named
ERG i.e. Existence – Relatedness – Growth. According to him there are 3 groups of core
needs as mentioned above. The existence group is concerned mainly with providing basic
material existence. The second group is the individuals need to maintain interpersonal
relationship with other members in the group. The final group is the intrinsic desire to grow
and develop personally. The major conclusions of this theory are :

1. In an individual, more than one need may be operative at the same time.
2. If a higher need goes unsatisfied than the desire to satisfy a lower need intensifies.
3. It also contains the frustration-regression dimension.

11) McClelland’s Theory of Needs :

David McClelland has developed a theory on three types of motivating needs :

1. Need for Power

2. Need for Affiliation
3. Need for Achievement

Basically people for high need for power are inclined towards influence and control. They
like to be at the center and are good orators. They are demanding in nature, forceful in
manners and ambitious in life. They can be motivated to perform if they are given key
positions or power positions.
In the second category are the people who are social in nature. They try to affiliate
themselves with individuals and groups. They are driven by love and faith. They like to build
a friendly environment around themselves. Social recognition and affiliation with others
provides them motivation.

People in the third area are driven by the challenge of success and the fear of failure. Their
need for achievement is moderate and they set for themselves moderately difficult tasks.
They are analytical in nature and take calculated risks. Such people are motivated to
perform when they see atleast some chances of success.

McClelland observed that with the advancement in hierarchy the need for power and
achievement increased rather than Affiliation. He also observed that people who were at
the top, later ceased to be motivated by this drives.

12 ) Equity Theory : 

As per the equity theory of J. Stacey Adams, people are motivated by their beliefs about the
reward structure as being fair or unfair, relative to the inputs. People have a tendency to
use subjective judgment to balance the outcomes and inputs in the relationship for
comparisons between different individuals. Accordingly :
If people feel that they are not equally rewarded they either reduce the quantity or quality
of work or migrate to some other organization. However, if people perceive that they are
rewarded higher, they may be motivated to work harder.

13) Reinforcement Theory :

B.F. Skinner, who propounded the reinforcement theory, holds that by designing the
environment properly, individuals can be motivated. Instead of considering internal factors
like impressions, feelings, attitudes and other cognitive behavior, individuals are directed by
what happens in the environment external to them. Skinner states that work environment
should be made suitable to the individuals and that punishments actually leads to
frustration and de-motivation. Hence, the only way to motivate is to keep on making
positive changes in the external environment of the organization.

14) Goal Setting Theory of Edwin Locke :

Instead of giving vague tasks to people, specific and pronounced objectives, help in
achieving them faster. As the clearity is high, a goal orientation also avoids any
misunderstandings in the work of the employees. The goal setting theory states that when
the goals to be achieved are set at a higher standard than in that case employees are
motivated to perform better and put in maximum effort. It revolves around the concept of
“Self-efficacy” i.e. individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing a hard task.

BEING A MOTIVATING MANAGER

1) Treat staff well :

Subordinates have to be treated with diligence. The manager has to stay friendly as well as
maintain a level of distance with his staff. It’s a tricky ground to tread. The staff looks up on
the manager as their leader. They expect maturity, rationality and understanding from their
superiors. Simple things like calling people by their first name, chatting about their families
for a while or even a general inquiry about their well-being, brings in a feeling of
belongingness. Small gestures of this type help in building up of a cordial relationship.

(2) Think like a winner :

A manager has to handle two situations, “The Winning” and “The loosing”. The crux is to
think like a winner even when all the odds seem against you. It is necessary to equip
yourself with all the tools of a winner. Always remember that winning and loosing rotate in
a cycle. If you have been loosing from a long time you are very near the winning edge.

(3) Recognize the differences :

All the employees in the organization vibrate to a different pace. A treatment that motivates
one may demotivation the other. Understanding the difference in temperament in between
the individuals is important.
4) Set realistic goals :

Set moderate goals. Setting too high a task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from
the beginning itself. The goals set should be such which seem feasible to the employees to
be achieved. A slightly higher target than expected provides a challenge.

(5) Prevent Demotivation :

A job of the manager is to motivate people. His task requires him to punish and penalize
people. This might create resentment in the mind of the staff members, which may affect
the productivity of the workforce. Henceforth, care should be taken, that punishment and
penalties are used as a controlling technique and that they do not demotivation.

(6) Job-financial enrichment and small job changes are handy :

To make job more effective and to break the monotonous routine, small task additions and
minor changes are always welcome. Even small suggestions of the manager seem valuable
to the employees. A few challenges in the same job can enrich it.

(7) Non-financial rewards :

Monetary rewards have always had a high motivational capacity. But non-monetary rewards
are equally helpful. A thank you note, a letter of appreciation or even few words of praise
can help smoothen the creases between the different levels of management.

QUOTATIONS

1. The enemy of the ‘best’ is the ‘good’

2. Think Win – Win
3. You have be very clever to do simple things
4. There is always a better way
5. The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything
6. Allow yourself the permission to make mistakes
7. The best are optimists having vision
8. Never promise more than you can perform
9. No pain no gain
10. Get organized
11. In action, be primitive; in foresight, a strategist
12. All easy problems ha e already been solved
13. Include the success of others in your dreams or your own success
14. To be a winner, all you need to give is all you have
15. Success means winning the war, not every battle
16. Daring ideas are like chessman, moved forward, they may be beaten but they may
start a winning a game
17. A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them
18. Work half day but don’t care if it’s the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Reasons for emphasizing the growth and development of personnel include

 Creating a pool of readily available and adequate replacements for personnel who
may leave or move up in the organization.
 Enhancing the company's ability to adopt and use advances in technology because of
a sufficiently knowledgeable staff.
 Building a more efficient, effective and highly motivated team, which enhances the
company's competitive position and improves employee morale.
 Ensuring adequate human resources for expansion into new programs.

Research has shown specific benefits that a small business receives from training and
developing its workers, including:

 Increased productivity.
 Reduced employee turnover.
 Increased efficiency resulting in financial gains.
 Decreased need for supervision.

Employees frequently develop a greater sense of self-worth, dignity and well-being as they
become more valuable to the firm and to society. Generally they will receive a greater share
of the material gains that result from their increased productivity. These factors give them a
sense of satisfaction through the achievement of personal and company goals.

The Training Process 

The model below traces the steps necessary in the training process:

 Organizational Objectives
 Needs Assessment
 Is There a Gap?
 Training Objectives
 Select the Trainees
 Select the Training Methods and Mode
 Choose a Means of Evaluating
 Administer Training
 Evaluate the Training

Your business should have a clearly defined strategy and set of objectives that direct and
drive all the decisions made especially for training decisions. Firms that plan their training
process are more successful than those that do not. Most business owners want to succeed,
but do not engage in training designs that promise to improve their chances of success.
Why? The five reasons most often identified are:
Time - Small businesses managers find that time demands do not allow them to train
employees.

Getting started - Most small business managers have not practiced training employees. The
training process is unfamiliar.

Broad expertise - Managers tend to have broad expertise rather than the specialized skills
needed for training and development activities.

Lack of trust and openness - Many managers prefer to keep information to themselves. By
doing so they keep information from subordinates and others who could be useful in the
training and development process.

Skepticism as to the value of the training - Some small business owners believe the future
cannot be predicted or controlled and their efforts, therefore, are best centered on current
activities i.e., making money today.

A well-conceived training program can help your firm succeed. A program structured with
the company's strategy and objectives in mind has a high probability of improving
productivity and other goals that are set in the training mission.

For any business, formulating a training strategy requires addressing a series of questions.

 Who are your customers? Why do they buy from you?

 Who are your competitors? How do they serve the market? What competitive
advantages do they enjoy? What parts of the market have they ignored?
 What strengths does the company have? What weaknesses?
 What social trends are emerging that will affect the firm?

The purpose of formulating a training strategy is to answer two relatively simple but vitally
important questions: (1) What is our business? and (2) What should our business be? Armed
with the answers to these questions and a clear vision of its mission, strategy and
objectives, a company can identify its training needs.

Identifying Training Needs 

Training needs can be assessed by analyzing three major human resource areas: the
organization as a whole, the job characteristics and the needs of the individuals. This
analysis will provide answers to the following questions:

 Where is training needed?

 What specifically must an employee learn in order to be more productive?
 Who needs to be trained?

Begin by assessing the current status of the company how it does what it does best and the
abilities of your employees to do these tasks. This analysis will provide some benchmarks
against which the effectiveness of a training program can be evaluated. Your firm should
know where it wants to be in five years from its long-range strategic plan. What you need is
a training program to take your firm from here to there.

Second, consider whether the organization is financially committed to supporting the

training efforts. If not, any attempt to develop a solid training program will fail.

Next, determine exactly where training is needed. It is foolish to implement a companywide

training effort without concentrating resources where they are needed most. An internal
audit will help point out areas that may benefit from training. Also, a skills inventory can
help determine the skills possessed by the employees in general. This inventory will help the
organization determine what skills are available now and what skills are needed for future
development.

Also, in today's market-driven economy, you would be remiss not to ask your customers
what they like about your business and what areas they think should be improved. In
summary, the analysis should focus on the total organization and should tell you (1) where
training is needed and (2) where it will work within the organization.

Once you have determined where training is needed, concentrate on the content of the
program. Analyze the characteristics of the job based on its description, the written
narrative of what the employee actually does. Training based on job descriptions should go
into detail about how the job is performed on a task-by-task basis. Actually doing the job
will enable you to get a better feel for what is done.

Individual employees can be evaluated by comparing their current skill levels or

performance to the organization's performance standards or anticipated needs. Any
discrepancies between actual and anticipated skill levels identifies a training need.

USING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

People with diverse backgrounds, different cultures, varied qualifications, contrasting
experiences and unique skills – all, when taken together, form the greatest assets of an
organization, or rather the organization itself. So what force holds them together? Well, the
answer is Communication. It acts as a glue that binds every single employee with every
other employee, every employee with his superiors and all the employees with the
organization. Earlier being considered as a source of control and power, communication has
now become liberal in organizations where every employee has now a right to access the
information he needs. However, due to failures of mergers and acquisitions and huge
layoffs, employees these days feel more disconnected from their employers.
This also puts a question on their loyalty for the company. Here comes the role of employee
communication. Effective communication is thus, critical to the organization as it directly
affects the organizational performance.

What to communicate?
Most corporate firms believe that employee communication is all about dispatching a
weekly or monthly newsletter on everyone’s desk. For most companies communication
means informing employees about the weekly or monthly happenings that occurred in the
company during a specific time frame like the CEO inaugurating some internal function, or
employee picnics and other miscellaneous events. What most of the companies miss out is
the information which will help the employees in knowing the organization better like the
new training systems being implemented, or the business models which the company
follows. Such initiatives equip the employees to understand and adapt to the company’s
strategic initiatives.

Before an employee is engaged and shows off his best performance, the Employee
Communication Program in an organization should satisfy the following three key employee
needs. The employee needs to:
 Know the organization, what businesses the company is in, who are the customers,
specific details about the product or service, where forms are located, who to see
when there is a problem and the like, the values and philosophy of the organization
and the like.
 Know about his job profile, what purpose he is supposed to solve and what is
expected out of him. He is also to be made aware of what practical skills will be
required to do the job, the resources he will use, specification guidelines, etc.
 Know the teams with which he will interact, his supervisors, and his team leader and
peers. The essence of this is to inculcate into him a sense of belonging with the
company. Effective communication should make him realize his worth to the
company and ensure him that he will be listened to, respected, trusted, and valued
by the company.

It is being observed that even though a company is a brand in the market, however, it fails
to be the same in eyes of its own employees. The employee communication, thus, should
aim towards having a common consensus about the organization in the minds of its
employees. It should promoting loyalty among employees, inspire quality work that satisfies
the need of the customers, and encourage employees to represent the company in a
manner consistent with the image defined in the market. Moreover, the company should
work towards promoting transparency and openness in employee communication.

There are four fundamental levels of communication in an organization. The first level deals
with organization wide communication involves communicating all employees about
practices and policies being followed or to be followed at organization level. It will include
communicating about recruitment practices, remuneration policy, or change in pay grades.
Such information has an organization wide impact and thus is to be communicated
throughout the company. The next is departmental communication which is specific to a
particular department or unit. Then there are team communications which deal within one
cohesive team and include communication about targets to be met, resources to be used,
etc. finally there are individual communications which are specific to one employee at any
one time or occurs between employees.

Impact on performance
Employee communication is directly linked with the success of an organization. Generally,
effective employee communication is linked to productivity and morale of the employees.
The effective the communication, the better is the performance. Employees, today, want to
have access to more and better information. Researches have revealed that effective
communication has a positive impact on employee satisfaction, productivity, turnover, and
morale. Research show that employees are most highly motivated and make their best
contribution to the business when there is full and open communication at work. It is also
proved that where there is an adequate flow of information and ideas among employees,
productivity is enhanced and confusion, duplication, and unproductive conflict are
minimized. Moreover, employee communication should not be seen as impersonal and a
formality of dissemination information among the employees. It should be considered to be
an empathetic transfer of understanding and deeper feelings.

Conclusion
Does this mean we have become experts in the field and that howsoever we communicate,
its effective? Well, there are always scopes for improvement. With every new day,
corporates are facing new challenges and barriers to communications. Huge number of
employees on rolls, workforce diversity, cultural shifts, easy access to large databases, and
employee attrition being some of them. Apart from this, there is an increasing demand for
monitoring the employee communications. Many employers fear that employees can pass
on the confidential data out of the company through emails or other channels. Moreover
these facilities can be used for non business activities or personal uses which only adds to
the costs incurred. It is a dilemma for employers whether they should monitor their
outgoing mail or not. To deal with such challenges the future HR departments will have to
acquire special competencies in order make the communication more effective and
transparent.

EMPLOYEE COMPANY RELATIONS

There are a lot of different issues that can affect employee satisfaction, which has a direct
result on employee productivity and overall corporate culture.  Employee relationship
management can be driven by using employee surveys to directly engage your employees in
the issues that are most important to them. 
Some of the core issues that can be controlled with effective employee relationship
management are:

 Communication – Open communication both amongst your employees and between

the employees and the management team is imperative.  When employees feel that
they can’t be heard, they may become frustrated, leading to lowered employee
morale.  Lowered morale can result in lowered productivity and an uncomfortable,
or even hostile, work environment.  Employee surveys can give you a thorough
understanding of how your employees feel about communication in your work
environment.
 Conflict management – When problems arise, it is important to understand how to
handle them.  This is a fundamental aspect of employee relationship management. 
Sometimes those conflicts occur between employees and employers. 
EmployeeSurveys.com can provide you the necessary tools to help you negotiate
and manage conflicts in your business.
  Employee growth – Employees that feel they are only required to put in their hours
and go home will do just that.  Employees that feel they can become a valuable asset
based on their work, as well as their ability to provide important ideas, offer input,
and perhaps pursue growth opportunities within the company, will create a positive
atmosphere within the corporate culture.   

Focusing on employee relationship management can have profound effects on how your
business operates.  Conducting employee surveys is a useful tool towards reaching a
beneficial level of employee relationship management because they provide an opportunity
for candid feedback and analysis that isn’t achievable in typical business communication. 

COMMUNICATING TO IMPLEMENT CHANGE

Whenever we begin to design an employee communication strategy that is focussed on
change the most important thing to consider is that the strategies implemented must
engage employees, not simply inform. In other words will the employee communication
strategy you are implementing cause a change in attitude and therefore behaviour or is it
simply information?
When I talk about employee engagement in this context I am focussed on communication
strategies that require the involvement of employees, that as a result the business issue
means something to employees personally, they now understand the reason why for
change and employees feel part of the process.
It is only when you engage employees that they will be focused on the reasons for change
and therefore change their behaviour to impact business outcomes. An excellent example of
this is linking employees with the customer experience. When the focus of your employee
communication efforts is customer satisfaction it then is easier to establish the direct link
between your strategies and business outcomes. It also creates a greater sense of
engagement amongst your employees because they feel a significant increase in
empowerment and understanding in how their role supports the customer experience and
how they can change it.
Firstly, after identifying the current methods and tools that you use to communicate with
employees, can you establish whether the tools and methods are engagement strategies or
information tools? Engagement tools are designed so that it requires some involvement of
the employee. Information tools mean that you are telling employees something, it is
information sharing not an opportunity to become involved. Some examples of information
tools are Staff Information Bulletins, the Company Intranet, and a CEO forum. An
engagement strategy on the other hand requires employees to be involved identifying the
issue and being part of the change process.
This is important because your ultimate aim in employee communication when
communicating change has to be to create the "Aha Moment".
The Aha Moment is based on information that does the following:
 Challenges the employee's belief about an aspect of the business
 The information suddenly helps employees say
o "Now it makes sense"
o "Now I understand"
o "Now I can do something about it"
One of the best ways to build the foundation for your employee communication strategy is
to undertake focus group research. This will allow you to explore specific aspects of
employees' perception of the organization and customer satisfaction and to identify the gap
between reality and perception. The focus group outcomes will also help you to identify
clearly what will create a paradigm shift in your employees thinking and therefore
understanding of the reasons for change.
Once you have your focus group outcomes, you can then begin designing employee
communication strategies that engage employees. You should have a clear understanding
about what employees know and what the facts are, and the gap between customer and
staff research. Most importantly you then identify a business issue that you feel sure your
strategies can impact on and work together with that area to implement an employee
communication strategy that can be measured by business outcomes.
Finally, to move forward and realign your employee communication tools and techniques as
part of a new employee communication strategy you need to ask the following questions:
1. Are you aware of the business strategy or issue facing your organization, division or
department?
2. How effectively do your current employee communication tools address that issue or
strategy?
3. Have you examined customer satisfaction data, do you know the precise areas
where there could be improvement?
4. Do you know the key issue, the "Aha!" factor that will create a new paradigm for
employees?
5. Do your employee communication strategies engage or simply inform?
6. How do you measure the impact of your strategy on the business?
Once you have answered the above questions then you will be more than half way there to
designing an employee communication strategy that engages employees, not simply
informs.
 CASE STUDY- TESCO
Background
Tesco began in 1919 with one man, Jack Cohen, a market stallholder selling groceries in
London. TESCO was formed out of a merger with T.E. Stockwell from whom he purchased
tea for sale on the stall. The first
store opened in 1929.

Since then, Tesco has expanded

across the world. It now has over
2,200 stores including
hypermarkets and Tesco Express
outlets to meet different
customer needs. As a
conglomerate Tesco also offers
alternative goods and services
such as insurance, banking and
online shopping. With net profits
of around £3.4 billion Tesco has
become the largest British
retailer and one of the world’s
leading retail outlets on three continents. Tesco’s growth has resulted in a worldwide
workforce of over 468,000 employees.
To support its growth, Tesco needs staff that are motivated, flexible and well-trained and
who recognise customer needs. In turn, Tesco’s employees are supported by the company
in their various roles and at different levels - from customer assistants in stores to
department managers; from warehouse employees to office and logistics staff. Tesco
recognises that employee motivation is important for the continued growth of the company.
This case study looks at how Tesco motivates its employees by increasing their knowledge,
skills and job satisfaction through training and development and providing relevant and
timely reward and recognition.

Tesco considers that the business depends on two groups of people – customers and staff. It
appreciates that staff are unique and have diverse lifestyles outside of work. To this end
Tesco supports staff with a work/life balance and offers reward through:
 flexible working
 free or reduced rate health benefits
 discount gym membership
 competitive salaries
 staff discount
 company share options.
Valuing employees
Tesco has discovered that it is important to create trust and respect. It has found that by
valuing employees, providing realistic goals and an interesting environment for them to
work in, it increases employees’ motivation. At Tesco a motivated member of staff ‘works in
partnership with others to achieve individual and team objectives’. This means that he or
she focuses on customers, treats people fairly and is determined and devoted to receiving
feedback from others.

Employee rewards
Tesco’s Employee Reward Programme has some similarity to Taylor’s theory. Its financial
reward packages are one motivating factor. However, there are factors other than money
which motivate people in both their personal and working lives.
Tesco goes far beyond Taylor and gives more than just simple pay increases. It supports the
varied lifestyles of individual employees through relevant and targeted benefits.
Many non-financial factors can and do motivate employees to improve their output. One
such factor may be the desire to serve people; others may be to improve personal skills or
achieve promotion. A person may be motivated to be a professional footballer not because
of the salary but because they love football.

Employees are more motivated if they feel content in their work. This often happens when
their employer creates a good working environment where employees feel valued, generally
through increased communication and being asked for their opinions. Employee motivation
is also likely to be higher if the organisation invests in its staff through training and
development. In turn this enhances their knowledge, skills and their sense of job
satisfaction.
Measuring staff satisfaction
Every year Tesco invites its staff to take part in a staff satisfaction survey called Viewpoint
which gives them the opportunity to express their views on almost every aspect of their job.
The results from the survey help Tesco make sure it is offering the right things to its staff to
keep them motivated. Some of the benefits available to staff include:
 Lifestyle break – this offers 4-12 weeks off work and guarantees the job back at the
end
 Career break – this allows staff between 6 months and 5 years away from work with
right of return
 Pension scheme – this award-winning scheme provides clearly defined long term
benefits.
 
Communication

At Tesco the Mayo theory is seen to be operating throughout the company. Communication
is an extremely important factor in motivating employees. This may be through 1-to-1
discussions with managers, through the company intranet or newsletters or through more
formal structures such as appraisals. Line managers hold a daily Team Meeting to update
staff on what is happening for the day and to give out Value Awards. These awards can be
given from any member of staff to another as a way of saying ‘thank you’ and celebrating
achievements.
Motivation from training and development
Tesco also promotes motivation through its many training and development opportunities.
Everyone has access not just to the training they need to do their job well but also to
leadership training to grow within the company.
Tesco offers strategic career planning to help staff ‘achieve the extraordinary’.
In 2009 Tesco appointed 3,000 managers – 80% internally. As well as an annual career
discussion with every employee, the company also emphasises the development of the
whole person and has implemented a system of 360 degree feedback. This is a personal
development tool which provides feedback from a selection of people with whom the
employee works. This helps employees to understand their behaviour, strengths and
weaknesses within the workplace as others see them. The idea of the programme is to ‘Take
People with You’ and ‘To Gain the Hearts and Minds of Others’ in order to improve
individuals and get things done efficiently.

Personal development plans

All Tesco employees have a Personal Development Plan which they build through their 360
degree feedback and other tools. This enables Tesco managers to offer meaningful feedback
to employees to help provide opportunities for continuous personal development. This
personal approach helps employees to reach their full potential by encouraging self-
assessment and providing advancement through ongoing training. It also enables individuals
to take responsibility for their development. This two-way relationship ensures that the
employee is committed to the values of the company, that he or she works in partnership
with others and helps improve the business for customers.
Tesco aims to motivate its employees both by paying attention to hygiene factors and by
enabling satisfiers. For example, it motivates and empowers its employees by appropriate
and timely communication, by delegating responsibility and involving staff in decision
making. It holds forums every year in which staff can be part of the discussions on pay rises.
This shows recognition of the work Tesco people do and rewards them. Tesco staff can even
influence what food goes onto its restaurant menus. Employees thus become motivated to
make choices that will increase their use of the restaurants.

Motivation

Employee motivation is an important task for managers. Early motivational theory such as
that of Taylor suggested that pay motivated workers to improve production. However
businesses now need employees to have greater motivation and have a stake in the
company for which they work, as shown by Mayo. Maslow and Herzberg demonstrated that
employees are motivated by many different factors.

Tesco provides opportunities for its managers and staff

to take a share and a greater interest in their own
employment. Since every employee is an individual, with
different needs and aspirations, the process of reviews
and personal development plans allows recognition of
their abilities and achievement, as well as potential
development.
This benefits the individual by providing career
progression. It also benefits Tesco by ensuring the business can deliver high levels of
customer service through its skilled employees.
 
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sites referred to:-

1. www.ittoolbox.com
2. www.wikipedia.com
3.