How Businesses Motivate Employees (Edexcel IGCSE Business)

Basic wages or salary that a worker receives for their labour

Employees who work on an hourly rate are paid wages and accrue benefits such as annual leave according to the hours they work

Salaries are paid to full-time staff and usually accompanied by benefits such as a fixed number of days of annual leave

A percentage of sales revenue is paid to workers who sell products or services

Commonly used in sales roles to motivate staff to sell more and upsell

An additional payment given to staff for achieving specific goals, completing projects on time or exceeding performance expectations

The opportunity to earn more money may motivate staff to work harder and achieve better results

Promotion usually demands a higher level of responsibility from an employee in the job role

• Higher pay is usually offered to reflect the increased responsibility
  

A clear promotion pathway can act as a motivator to improve productivity and staff performance

These are additional benefits usually offered to salaried employees

• Fringe befits could include the use of a company car, private healthcare or gym membership
  

Employees can be motivated to work hard in order to keep their job and the associated fringe benefits

Involves giving staff the authority and resources to make decisions and take action without first receiving management approval

• Increases staff sense of ownership and responsibility, leading to improved productivity

Involves adding more challenging or meaningful tasks to a job

 Staff feel more motivated and engaged, leading to improved productivity

Involves moving staff between broadly similar but varied roles in the business

Exposes staff to new challenges and experiences, which can increase motivation, understanding and skill