How do we deal with the effects of the economic downturn on employee motivation in the FMCG industry?

 

Introduction

Crisis management may be defined as an organization’s acts and behaviors which prepare it to be ready to manage major catastrophic happenings in a safe and effective style (Lockwood, 2005).

Market globalisation, lack of qualified workforce and financial crisis present permanent pressure on the enterprise management, which must be focused on developing a competitive strategy as well as on determining and implementing crisis management to keep the enterprise going. The enterprise can have high technology, dispose of vast financial resources and precious information but only qualified and skilled employees will make decisions and ensure success and competitiveness of the enterprise (Hitka and Sirotiaková, 2011).

As a result of recent changes in the economic structure,  the adaptation of the Slovak economy to market conditions, enterprises pay more attention to man and his personal traits. As the only source of innovation and progress, the employee can use new opportunities, markets and up-to-date technologies. The above-mentioned changes can also be observed in the area of woodworking industry (Jelačić et al., 2012).

In the study conducted by Smith & Liou (2007), the impact of financial sector in response to financial distress is analyzed. As a matter of evidence, several studies have proven the negative impact caused by the financial distress on employee job motivation and job security level. Dr. Sori (2006) noticed a strong relationship between the final variables in the prediction model. Further studies have also proven similar results.

The motivation of employees can also be viewed as a cognitive element which can be understood through cognitive processes such as goals within Locke and Latham’s (2006) goal setting theory. Motivation is the process that explains an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robbins et al., 2009). Jones (1955) cited in Steers & Porter (1991) define motivation as ‘...how behaviour gets started, is energised, is sustained, is directed, is stopped, and what kind of subjective reaction is present in the organism while all this is going on. Therefore motivation covers how organisationally beneficial behaviour can be started and maintained.Motivation includes the vigour and persistence of action (Atkinson (1964) cited in Steers & Porter, 1991).

How we planned to deal with the problem

I currently work for a leading food firm in Sri Lanka, and the tactics implemented to inspire staff amid this economic downturn are as follows.

• Those who use public transportation are provided with transportation to their doorstep by the company. It enables those individuals to operate more effectively in the office.

• The company paid for some of the employees' children's higher education.

• The company provides breakfast to each employee.

• The current insurance scheme has been improved.

• Providing the necessary consumer items at a reduced cost

• Addressing the employee grievances on time promotes positive relationship between employees and management. Therefore, a lot of initiatives have been taken to resolve employee grievances.

• Employee counseling provided by our factory HR is a good helping process for our employees to get the direction to solve their problems.

During a downturn in the economy, human resource management must focus on retaining and motivating competent key personnel who can help the company overcome the crisis and provide a competitive advantage in times of prosperity.

Reference

Aquinas, P.G. (2006). Organisation Behaviour: Concepts, Realities, Applications and challenges. Delhi: Excel Books.

Garcia, H. (2006). Effective leadership response to crisis. Strategy and Leadership, 34(1), 4-10.

Lunenburg, F.C., (2011). Goal-setting theory of motivation. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 15(1), 1-6.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.

Mitroff, I. I., & Anagnos, G. (2001). Managing Crisis Before Happen. American Management Association, s. 34.

Pourron, A. (2020). Why Is Employee Motivation So Important In Crisis Situations? International Labour Organisation. 2020. Managing work-related psychosocial risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Geneva: ILO

VandeWalle, D. (2001). Goal orientation: Why wanting to look successful doesn’t always lead to success. Organizational Dynamics, 30(2), 162-171.

Employee motivation during the covid 19 Pandemic in FMCG Industry

 

Background 

Why is employee motivation so crucial to an organization

 Motivation of employee

In today's world, increasing motivation, commitment, and engagement levels are critical organizational components. Compensation policies play a critical role in motivating employees to provide high levels of performance, discretionary effort, and contribution. Motivation usually begins with someone seeing a need that isn't being met. Then a goal is set to be achieved, and that is how the need is met. People might be offered rewards and incentives to help them achieve their objectives. The motivation level is also influenced by the social situation (Anwar & Shukur, 2015).

Learning new skills and developing new competencies have long been regarded to be beneficial.boosts employee morale and happiness, but it is also recognized that goal achievement has a substantial impact on motivation and job satisfaction (Lather and Jain, 2005). Managers and supervisors also play an important role in inspiring and enabling performance by fostering employee participation, mutual commitment, and knowledge of diversity concerns (Snyder et al, 2004).

The organization's management has the authority to develop alignment between organizational and employee goals and objectives in order to extract performance. The level of motivation and satisfaction is influenced by the organizational behavior represented by the organization's senior management, which is closely followed by the organization's beliefs, principles, and underlying values (Roos, Van Eeden, 2008).

The core potential of an organization is its motivated and satisfied personnel who constantly contribute to the organization's aims and objectives.

An effective HRM system might go a long way toward keeping employee morale high (Kumar and Garg, 2011). Without the active participation and interest of senior management, it is impossible for any division to simply motivate and satisfy personnel (K R. Solanki, 2013).

Employee initiative and participation should be encouraged by employers, as this will aid in the development of leadership at all levels. Formal authority is not a criterion for leadership jobs, but initiative and invention are. If given the option, individuals at all levels can choose to behave as leaders, which helps motivate and influence other employees (Jeffrey L. Herman et al, 2011).

Motivation is crucial.

As a responsible FMCG company in sri lanka , currently I’m working employee motivation is so crucial.

Employee motivation is critical to any company's success. Job satisfaction is one of the most essential aspects of studying human behavior in organizations. In the majority of cases, the core reason of the misbehavior is the employee's lack of or poor job satisfaction. In the same scenario, this may spread to other employees in a shorter amount of time.as a company following are the most Importance of motivation.

 The group's/teams' direction is unified.

 Effectiveness and efficiency at a higher level

 Organizational commitment has increased.

 Optimal resource use

 Creating a high-performance environment

 Enhances an organization's ability to deal with a variety of business difficulties.

 Employee retention and attractiveness are essential for ensuring a steady and consistent supply of labor.

Video1.0: Stop Trying to Motivate Your Employees | Kerry Goyette | TEDxCosmoPark

Source:TEDx Talks

Motivational obstacles

The following are some of the problems that an Maliban has in creating a motivated and committed environment:

 Business environment that is dynamic and competitive

 Management's ignorance and lack of awareness of the relevance of motivation

 Organizational commitment to employee expectations is lacking, as is a restricted worldview.

 Organizational structure and people policies and practices that are non-competitive

 Employee expectations are not well understood.

 Currently in place performance management system

 Employees' ambiguous organizational expectations

 Employee mobility is high due to a competitive employee market.

Reference

Anwar, G., & Shukur, I. (2015). Job satisfaction and employee turnover intention: A case study of private hospital in Erbil. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 2(1), 73

Ali1,B & Anwar2,G .(2021) An Empirical Study of Employees’ Motivation and its

Influence Job Satisfaction. International journal of Engineering, Business and Management (IJEBM)

Demir, S. (2020). The role of self-efficacy in job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation and job involvement. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 20(85), 205-224

Ihsani, N., & Wijayanto, A. (2020). The effect of organizational culture, motivation, and job satisfaction on employee performance. Dinasti International Journal of Digital Business Management, 1(4), 492-502

Lubis, R. K. (2020). Analysis of Effect of Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction Performance Against Serdang Agricultural Extension Bedagai. Journal of Management Science (JMAS), 3(1, Januari), 19-24.

Navdeep Kumar, Pankaj Garg, (2011). Impact of motivational factors on employee’s job

satisfaction- A study on some selected organization in Punjab, India, ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 672 Volume 2, pp 672-683, ISSN 2229 – 3795.

Varma,C. (2017). IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION & JOB SATISFACTION

FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE, International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research. pp. 10-20

How employee motivation can reduce turnover

 Employee turnover

Employee turnover is a fact of life in any business, regardless of industry or size. Many businesses today are dealing with issues connected to a lack of information about the nature of employee turnover procedures.

Both the employee and the company benefit from a thorough examination of systems linked to employee volatility. Uncontrolled and excessive turnover can result in significant direct and indirect expenditures for a business (Staw, 1980). As a result, a detailed evaluation of staff turnover is required. may point to a variety of reasons that contribute to greater turnover. As a result, there will be unfavorable effects It's possible that the effects of this phenomenon can be reduced. From the employee's perspective, knowledge is important concerning the features of individual employees that offer them a competitive advantage on the job market is essential. Identification of the employees who are the most vulnerable is also crucial.

Employee fluctuation is a term used to describe when employees come and go. In the literature, there is no clear definition of employee fluctuation. The term "staff fluctuation" can be used to describe any situation in which an employee quits an organization (Cascio, 2001).

This term is sometimes boiled down to voluntary turnover, which occurs when an employee makes the conscious decision to quit the organization (Pocztowski, 2009). Much broader definitions can be found, such as: employee turnover is a diametrical change, exchange, or large loss of staff members (Cybulski, 2008). This concept will be defined for the purposes of this article as the process of external turnover, which includes, but is not limited to, dismissals from the examined organization. Voluntary and involuntary employee turnover are both possible (Cascio, 2001)

Video 1: Employee Turnover

Source: GreggU(2018)

What impact Does Employee Turnover Have?

Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (pvt)ltd, a leading FMCG company in Sri Lanka, is experiencing the following effects as a result of employee turnover.

Individual Level

 Monthly earnings will decrease.

 Job satisfaction is decreasing.

 Unable to meet the daily target set for each individual.

Organizational Level

 Can't fulfill the department's KPI's

 Smooth operations cannot be performed

 Due to insufficient labor, high overtime payments

National Level

 In the market, there will be a shortage of supply.

 Market Share lost

 The question of distributor profitability

International level

 International businesses are more profitable, income will decrease

Bridging the gap between challengers and solutions at Maliban

Employees for internal promotions are identified based on the individual performance. Our rewarding system is tied with the performance management system. Therefore, the company pays the annual increment to all level of employees in line with their performance rate determined by the performance appraisal system. Consequently, annual increment rate of each individual varies in accordance with their performance level. Hence, our employees are in the view that pay decision of the company is well transparent and equitable to their responsibilities and the performance rates. 

Moreover, company does its internal promotions based on the performance rate of employees determined by the performance appraisal system. So, everyone in the company has equal opportunities to move up in the ladder based on their high performance. Hence, the promotion scheme of the company is a good tool to recognize top internal talents and offer them fair and appropriate rewards in accordance with their superior performance.

For instance, our present AGM-Sales has stated his career as a sales representative. He was promoted based on his remarkable performance via our internal promotion scheme timely.

Those activities motivate the majority of employees.

Reference

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S. 2014. Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Man-agement Practice. 13th ed. Ashford Colour press Ltd. London.

Armstrong, M (2006). A handbook of human resource management practice, 10th edn, Kogan Page, Ltd.

Accorinti, K. L., Gilster, S. D., & Dalessandro, J. L., (2000). Staff programs focus on reducing turnover. Balance,4, (5), 12-14, 28.

EmployeeTurnover,https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=EMPLOYEE+TURNOVER&&view=detail&mid=F5F1BA9CAA7B6825C7F8F5F1BA9CAA7B6825C7F8&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DEMPLOYEE%2BTURNOVER%26FORM%3DHDRSC4

Grzenda,w  & Buczyński, ,M.(2015) Estimation of Employee Turnover with Competing Risks Models, Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia

Price, J., (1989). The Impact of Turnover on the Social Psychology, . Organisation. Work and Occupations, 16(4): 461-473.

Rinefort, Foster C; Van Fleet, David D.(1998) American Business Review; West Haven Vol. 16, Iss. 2,   9-13.

Somers, M.J. (1996). Modelling employee withdrawal behaviour over time: A study of turnover using survival analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,69, 315–326.