Improving staff performance

Two types of theories are content and process theories, content theories are such as Fredrick Herzburg and Alderfer’s ERG theory, process theories are such as, Victor Vroom Expectancy Theory and The Adams’ Equity Theory, it’s simple to tell the two types of theories apart process theories of motivation focus on the employees of businesses needs and who those needs influence their behaviour and how the employees work together on the other hand content focuses on the task and issues the employee is working on.

An example of one content theory is ERG theory (picture below):

picture from (google images.com/erg.com )Alderfer’s GRE theory is a very simple content to understand it has strong similarities to Maslow hierarchy of needs the only different is that Alderfer does not believe it is a higher hierarchy, he believes that at the lower level of existence is to stay alive, to be safe and also physically comfortable this correlates with Maslow’s safety needs, the Relatedness is the next level  beliving that once we are safe, secure and basic needs are met we would now start considering social needs such as relationships and creating a sense of identity and position in society this relates to Maslow’s Love/belonging and esteem needs. Growth is the last level at this highest level we strive to grow and achieve success , feeling a sense wholeness this is equivalent of Maslow’s self-actualization.

On the other hand an example of Process theory is  , Victor Vroom Expectancy Theory.(picture below):

Victor vroom’s theory has three factors, Effort, Performance and outcome the concept of victors theory is for a person to be motivated effort, performance and motivation must be linked. He proposes three variables to account for this, he calls them valence, expectancy and instrumentality.
Expectancy is the belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance, Instrumentality is the belief that if you perform and do well the outcome will be valued an example of this is if someone does a good Job they will receive a good reward. Valence is the importance that the individual place upon the expected outcome, an example of this is someone who’s key motivation is money so they would not value, offers, perks or additional time off.Motivation within the organisation of Tesco, Tesco is a very well known brand they have built their name since 1929, they have managed to create customer loyalty and consumer confidence within their customers, Tesco also cares about their employees, Tesco offers employee discounts and other perks to motivate their employees.

I decided to conduct my own primary research so I introduced myself to a member of staff from Tesco in the Eden centre whilst he was smoking on brake, I told him about my blogg assignment and asked if it was ok if he could answer some questions I have for him he said “ok, no problems mate”
I didn’t want to be rude so I asked a little information about him first, I asked his age, he replied “18” I also asked how long he has been with Tesco and his poison in the business, he said “round about 2years and I work as check-out but also on shop floor” I said “that’s nice, do you like it ?” he said “YES” in a loud voice, I then said ow what so good ? he then carried on to tell me that “ I enjoy working at Tesco, I have a plan currently am a customer service advisor but I wont to move on to be a store manager in about another 2-3 years “ “ I dropped out of school at 16 so that been my plan since then.

after about 5minutes talk we then started talking about motivation and why he is so interested and motivated to stay with tesco, he then went on and told me about his training day “I had  a really good training day with the managers it was easy to talk to them, Uno it wasn’t scary the relationship is good” I asked about the perks “perks like free stuff ?”  “They give us discounts, coupons and good holidays” “managers motivate you as well it’s like a community and you love being in it”.

so as you can see from that very informal interview I had with this young man from Tesco, Tesco motivate their staff mainly with behaviours such as treating employees with respects and compassion, as I was talking to this young man I was waiting for him to say how he was motivated by money, I mean at the age he is at you would think money is a high, level of motivation but to my surprise he never gave any information on his wages.

I also looked on the careers section on tesco home page I took a print screen of my findings:


As You can see Tesco offers a large list of rewards and benefits.
I have gone on to elaborate on each one.
All information was taken from tesco website at : (http://www.tesco-careers.com/home/working/rewards-and-benefits/we-all-share-in-our-success

Share our Success

At Tesco, we like to ensure our staff are cared for financially. So whether you have been with us 3 months or 3 years we run three successful share schemes, all helping you end up with more cash in your pocket.

Shares in Success

So, to thank our people for the success they've brought the business, we give free shares to everyone who's worked here for one year at the end of the financial year (February). We share a proportion of our profit amongst our staff, based on salaries. These Tesco shares are held in trust for 5 years, and after that you can take them, tax-free.

Save As You Earn

Every October those people who've been here a year get the option to save up to £50 every 4 weeks for either 3 or 5 years and receive a tax-free bonus at the end. You can use your savings and bonus to buy Tesco shares at up to 20% less than the market price, or take the cash.

Buy As You Earn

After three months working with us you'll have the chance to join the BAYE scheme. You buy shares at the market price every 4 weeks, saving tax and National Insurance on the salary you use to do this. You can start, stop or change the amount you invest at any time. And if you keep the shares in trust for 5 years you'll get even more tax advantages.

Staff Privilegecard

To reward you for your loyalty, after a year working at Tesco you will be given your Privilegecard - the staff loyalty card that gives you 10% discount and Clubcard points on most Tesco products.

And eligible staff also have access to exclusive staff discounts with Tesco Personal Finance and Tesco Telecoms.

Pension

We look after your future too

None of us know what the future holds, but you can be sure that peace of mind and financial security for our staff is very important to us. Planning ahead to your retirement is easy with our award winning, Tesco pension scheme.

With a Tesco pension you are able to understand how financially secure you will be when you decide to retire. As well as pension provision you have access to a life assurance scheme that will provide financial protection for your family.

Your leisure time

Our staff work hard, so we believe they should be able to make the most of their leisure time. To help with this we have negotiated discounts and special offers that are available exclusively to Tesco staff.

There are discounts on theme parks, holidays and gym membership that are available all year round. There are also special offers throughout the year, to make sure there's always something for everyone.

Protecting your health

To ensure that staying fit and healthy doesn't cost our people an arm and a leg, we have some great discounts with top healthcare companies. We offer exclusive discounted rates for staff on health cash plans, dental cover and private medical insurance, to help take the burn out of healthcare costs.

Supporting your lifestyle

We recognise that Tesco staff have busy lives outside of the workplace, so we've introduced a range of policies that will help you find a better balance between your work life and home life.

From saving money with childcare vouchers to taking time off work for a career break or extended holiday, at Tesco there are a variety of options available to support your lifestyle.

From talking to the staff from Tesco and looking at their website i think the best process theory that can be used to discribe the business is Maslows hierarchy of needs ( diagrame shown below ):

Picture taken from : (http://www.ict-learningnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/maslow-hierarchy-needs.jpg )

Maslow best show Tesco because of the levels, when you first start at tesco you can be a basic customer service person at this position Tesco shows us they meet basic survival needs by paying their staff and giving brakes and having clean facilities, they also have safety needs security on shop floor, CCTV and also fire doors/escapes.
Psychological needs are met by the nice and helpful managers that are described in my primary research by the employee from Tesco, Tesco also give opportunity for itsmoving from customer service to supervisor letting the employee reach self actualization.

Conclusion :

Within this topic i found quite a few things out such as money for all employees is not the key motivation, they have other motivation such as moving up within the business, praise from the manager, holidays and discounts.

whilst working in a organisation as big as tesco employees may come in a long line, this could leave them thinking their opinion and presents is not valued but that is not the case within this organisation, Tesco has store managers to run each branch so all employees can feel an existence and belonging within the business, having training days and having staff meetings back up the feeling of being valued.

I see now that an organisation/business have to work very hard to keep employees motivated and working hard so those employees can perform hard and keep up the good reputation Tesco currently holds Global.