Incentives to motivate workers eyeing to go up the career ladder

by Luke Anami

The quality of workplace learning opportunities ranks first among reasons why employees seek a new job.

This is because people are attracted to an organisation in pursuit of career development through training.

"The quality and calibre of staff in Public Service is dependent on how we recruit and retain staff," Minister for Public Service, Dalmas Otieno said during the Public Service Week.

Otieno underscored the need for career progression in the Public Service through training.

But why is career progression so important?

Many people assume that monetary rewards are the prime motivator for employee satisfaction, and therefore acts as a retention factor.

Lucrative offers

However, two management gurus Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg dispel this assumption.

In Maslow’s theory, human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Needs emerge only when lower ones have been satisfied. By the same token, satisfied needs no longer influence behaviour.

Management studies conducted in the past reveal that 80 to 90 per cent of employees leave their jobs, not because of the money factor, but due to matters related to the job, management, culture, or work environment.

These internal reasons, also known as ‘push’ factors, as opposed to ‘pull’ factor, such as better-paying outside opportunity, are within the power of the company and the manager to control and change.

However, most employers especially in the private sector are profit-driven, they ignore this important aspect in their career development.

Opportunities for learning and improving one’s skills are highly rated as factors influencing engagement with a firm.

People are more likely to stay and advance in their jobs, when the work is challenging, interesting, and meaningful, and when they have opportunities to upgrade their skills.

It is possible to determine career progression in terms of the competencies and skills required by individuals to carry out work at progressive levels of responsibility or contribution at the workplace.

Competencies are the attributes and behavioural characteristics needed to perform effectively at each discrete level in a job or a career family.

Worker can also progress in their careers by moving through their careers either upwards through promotion or by increasing responsibilities in their jobs

Management can also enrich their roles to take greater responsibilities, a move that could be fulfilling .

Be creative

Experience shows that when an employee is given room to make use of their skills and capacities, they find fulfilment in their careers.

One reason why employees stick to their jobs, even when it is clear the management has no clear plans for progression, is the high rate of unemployment.

When your career is stuck, there are no two ways about it. You either quit, or mark time in your position hoping that one day, some miracle will take place and you will be rescued.

You want to keep your job at all costs, despite all the challenges you undergo with your employer.

It could affect your performance, morale and eventually your ability to deliver, making it difficult for your employer to retain you.

That is why the need to participate, to be recognised, to be creative, and to experience a sense of worth are better motivators in an affluent society.

However, employees are more likely to stay with an employer, when there is opportunity for career progression.

When workers are attracted to an employer, there are long-term benefits through effective manpower planning.