How to Motivate and Sustain Non-profit Employees within an Organization

The workplace is not the simple unit today that it once was. Previously, people were looking for simpler things out of their jobs, had simpler expectations and demanded lesser from their work than they now do. Todays employees are not as content. The dynamic environment of the workplace and the dynamism in their personal lives has led them to need, expect and demand much more from their jobs than they once did. The higher level of expectations makes it herder for organizations to meet these demands as effectively, making dissatisfaction a more eminent threat than in the past.
The two broad categories of organizations today- for-profits and non-profits- respond to this threat in different ways. The relatively unconstrained budget of the for-profits allows them to lure employees to achieving higher results with promises of monetary rewards and benefits. Hindered by their budgetary constraints, non-profits need to find relatively low-cost ways of motivating their employees and sustaining them at the same levels of performance as is desired for meeting organizational goals.

Literature Review
Motivation
Motivation is defined as the processes that account for an individuals intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal (HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comsrefrdr_ext_aut_encodingUTF8indexbooksfield-authorJohn20R.20SchermerhornSchermerhorn  Hunt, 2008).

On analyzing the definition, we find that intensity is concerned with the depth of a persons efforts. It measures how hard a person tries at an individual level to meet organizational or individual goals. This is the element which is usually emphasized the most in the process of analyzing and measuring motivation. In most organizations, the focus is placed expressly on this factor when they talk about motivation. However, it is not necessary that the performance outcomes will be favorable for the organization just because of high intensity of efforts the efforts need to be directed in such a way that benefits the organization. This means that the quality of efforts has to be taken into consideration just as carefully as the intensity. Organizations should be seeking employee efforts that are not only directed toward benefiting the organization, but are also consistent with organizational goals at the same time. 4Finally, motivation also has an element of persistence to it. This is a measure of how long a person can maintain his or her level of effort. Individuals who are motivated stay with a task and maintain a consistent level of effort until the task is completed.

Motivation can be greatly affected due to the varying situations that the individual is exposed to. In the process of analyzing the concept of motivation, it is important to keep in mind that the level of motivation varies both between individuals and within individuals, depending on the situation. This difference is dependant on the ongoing situation at the time, and varies accordingly with varying circumstances. Different individuals may need different stimuli to motivate them. This need of difference in the stimuli is due to the varying personalities of individuals. However, the same rule may apply to a single person if he or she needs to be motivated in different situations this scenario will call for a difference in the motivating factors just as surely as employees personalities affect the ways in which they need to be motivated.

Factors of Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is that which stems from performing the work itself. It is related to a persons inner satisfaction that results from completing the task. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is that which stems from rewards granted by the organization. Intrinsic factors of motivation are a lot more powerful than extrinsic factors of motivation it is the difference between wanting to do something because it matters to you, and having to do it because it matters to someone else (Bohlander  Snell, 2009).

Theories of Motivation
These theories of motivation have been divided into two broad categories

Early theories of motivation
Contemporary theories of motivation
According to HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comsrefrdr_ext_aut_encodingUTF8indexbooksfield-authorJohn20R.20SchermerhornSchermerhorn  Hunt (2008), the early theories of motivation represent a foundation from which the contemporary theories of motivation originated and grew. Although these theories have been heavily questioned and their validity is dubious, they are still depended upon as explaining employee motivation in the best way, and are in fact still in use by managers in many organizations to explain employee motivation.

Below are a few theories of motivation which will be used as a basis for explaining how non-profit employees can be motivated in an organization.

Hierarchy Of Needs Theory
This theory was developed by Abraham Maslow. It is one of the most well known theories of motivation. The hypothesis underlying this theory is that that every human being has five needs present in his or herself that are arranged in a defined hierarchy. These needs are (HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comsrefrdr_ext_aut_encodingUTF8indexbooksfield-authorJohn20R.20SchermerhornSchermerhorn  Hunt, 2008)

Physiological this need primarily consists of bodily needs of a human being. Examples include hunger, thirst, shelter, etc.

Safety this need applies to both physical and psychological threats and dangers.

Social is the need to be accepted by society and fit in as an equal.

Esteem this need stems from within a person himself, but consists of both internal and external factors, examples including status, self respect, etc.

Self-actualization this is a need to achieve the position that an individual is capable of.

McClellands Theory Of Needs
This theory was developed by David McClelland and his associates. The theory focuses on three needs, which are as follows

Need for achievement (nAch) this is the drive to succeed in an individual. It involves the need to achieve up to par with a set of standards with which you performance is being compared, or to strive to excel in general.

Need for power (nPow) it is the need to influence in others such a behavior that they would not exhibit otherwise.

Need for affiliation (nAff) it is the need of a person to have closely knit relationships with their social acquaintances.

Motivating and Sustaining Non-Profit Employees
In non-profit organizations, the employees are driven by much more than monetary gain. Non-profit organizations cannot lure employees in with monetary perks as is the case with for-profits, nor can they motivate employees to work harder and increase productivity through monetary perks, cash benefits or paid vacations and leaves. These employees are much more likely to be motivated due to intrinsic factors than they are likely to see an opportunity for motivation in extrinsic motivating factors.
For non-profit employees, organizations need to focus mostly on the intrinsic factors that motivate individuals. The word non-profit naturally implies that extrinsic factors of motivation will not be as helpful in achieving the desired results where it concerns non-profit employees. According to Bohlander  Snell (2009), when rewards and punishments are used as extrinsic factors of motivation, they usually result in only short term motivation, and accordingly, short term results. If an organization understands the psychological principles which are fueling employee motivation, however, and find effective ways to connect these principles to the relative business goals, individuals can be raised to much higher levels of performance than is usually thought possible. Also, connecting the underlying motivating factors with performance and, ultimately, results makes it possible for the organization to sustain the high level of performance over a longer term period.

Taking the perspective of the theories of motivation described before, a non-profit employee will be more inclined towards fulfilling his self actualization and esteem needs than the others. The drive to fulfill basic needs will be there, but the employee in question will be more concerned with the part that he can play in achieving the task at hand, rather than the material rewards he or she hopes to receive upon completing the task. According to McClellands theory of needs, a non-profit employee will be more concerned with fulfilling the need for achievement more than other of the three needs mentioned in the theory.

Some Essential Principles
In order to motivate and sustain non-profit employees, it is important that organizations should keep in mind some essential principles that guide employee motivation. Although these principles are very basic, they are the very foundation of how the desired level of motivation can be achieved for non-profit employees and how the achieved level can be sustained over a longer period of time.

Motivation Starts from the Top
The manager in charge of the motivation program needs to understand that enthusiasm is contagious if he or she is stressed out himherself, the subordinates are more likely to catch on to the depressed mood than they are to be inspired by the motivating efforts the manager is trying to implement. A good starting point in learning about motivation is for the manager to understand what their own motivators are. In order to motivate employees, it is important to understand what motivates them if the manager already has a clear idea about what his or her own motivators are, it is easier to find concrete clues to what might the driving forces be behind employees motivation.

Alignment of Employee Goals with Organizational Goals
As per the essence of motivation, employee efforts should be consistent with and directed toward achieving organizational goals. Employee performance levels can be high, but if they do not contribute to the goals of the organization, they will prove to be totally unworthy to the organization. Therefore, it is crucial that managers know what they want from their employees, and how the employees can be made to achieve these goals. Therefore, when designing motivation programs, it is important for the organization to ensure that employees have strong input in identifying what their goals are, so that it is easier for them to be able to achieve them effectively. However, it must be ensured that this input does not undermine the alignment of the said goals with organizational goals.

Understanding Individual Motivators
As mentioned before, motivation differs between individuals as well as within individuals, depending on the variety of situations that the individual is exposed to. This is a pivotal factor when designing motivation programs. Organizations should incorporate individual motivating factors of employees into the whole motivation program framework on a priority basis. According to Bohlander  Snell (2009), these motivators can be found out by asking the employees, listening to them and observing them in the natural work environment.

Sustainability of Employee Motivation as a Dynamic Process
Non-profit organizations need to understand that the workplace is dynamic. It is a known and well established fact that neither the organization nor its workforce can be expected to be static over any period of time. Therefore, it is important to design motivation programs that are viable to survive through the dynamics of the workplace. This can be achieved through creating as well as sustaining an environment where each employee is capable of motivating themselves effectively. If developing and sustaining employee motivation is seen as an ongoing process, the results will ultimately be more fruitful.

Sustainability of Employee Motivation through Organizational Systems
Employee motivation can be greatly enhanced by developing and cultivating strong relationships between management and the workforce however, they cannot be sustained as effectively through the same method. The nature of these relationships between the management and employees can vary greatly in differing situations, which can take its toll on employee morale. Reliable and comprehensive organizational systems to help motivate employees can do a better job in this regard. Putting in place such systems induces clarity and effectiveness in the motivation process, and ensures sustainability throughout. Also, establishing such systems ensures clarity of understanding and equitable treatment of employees.

Motivation through Perks
A non-profit employee may not be offered a salary which is highly competitive with the marketplace also, the benefits may not be as robust as they are in for-profit organizations, but one of the most effective ways that a non-profit organization can motivate its employees is by offering low-cost job perks. Some of the ways in which organizations can motivate non-profit employees are

Free Membership
A membership perk is one of the easiest and most effective ways to ensure the goodwill of a non-profit employee. Member organizations can chip in with providing employees with free membership or reduce membership fee to considerably lower rates, along with providing reduced membership fee offers for families of the employees. Since an organizations employees are its biggest ambassadors, a fact which is especially true and handy in the case of non-profits, it proves to be effective for such organizations to secure their employees goodwill.

Paid Training
One of the biggest motivators for non-profit employees is the opportunity to learn. This can easily be used as a motivator by organizations if it is offered as a job perk. In depth training at job site gives non-profit employees the chance to gain more knowledge about a particular subject matter. Also, perks such as continuing education credits will also prove to be effective motivators and will help sustain the employees as well as increase the level of performance. These measures will ensure employee motivation along with the fact that the non-profit employees are knowledgeable enough to effectively achieve organizational goals.

Program Discounts
Non-profit employees should have an edge above others by being offered reduced rates for special classes or events being held by the organization. An additional benefit can be offered in the way that non-profits are allowed to sign up or register for special events before anyone else.

Merchandise Discount
This motivating factor can work two ways for the organization not only does it increase employee morale, it also increases the organizations recognition in the community or society that it operates in. Not-for-profit organizations that sell merchandise can offer employees a discount. This job perk can work as an advertising technique for the organization in question, as well as boost employee motivation and loyalty towards the organization.

Food Discount
Non-profit organizations having cafeterias or snack carts can offer discounts to employees. If an on-site cafeteria facility is not available, organizations can establish a contract with a local restaurant for providing a decided percentage-discount on the total price to non-profit employees wearing an employee badge proving their service with the organization.

FreeReduced Parking Rates
This factor can prove to be more than just a job perk it can be perceived as highly valuable by non-profit employees due to its element of making the job affordable for employees and reducing personal frustration. Even if free parking is not available at the organization site, a parking subsidy to non-profit employees will be more than up to par in doing the job. This subsidy can be offered by discharging the cost directly or arranging parking discounts through third party parking lots.

Subsidized Mass Transit
Non-profit organizations can join an existing employer discount program for offering discounted transit fee to its employees. If an employer discount program does not exist, the organization can pay a portion of the monthly transit cost of the employees itself.

Credit Union Membership
Non-profits can engage their employees into a credit union membership. Credit unions tend to offer better interest rates than commercial banks, but this condition applies only to qualifying members. Non-profit employees can be facilitated to join by their organizations if the organization approaches credit unions on the behalf of its workforce to see if they ca expand their program to its employees and their families.

Conclusion
Non-profits are usually organizations that are established with the purpose of doing good for the community. With a purpose of community well-being in mind, it is important for the non-profit employees to stay enthused about their jobs so that they can deliver their promise to the society effectively. However, these employees are just as liable to dissatisfaction at or due to the workplace as any other workforce of other organizations. Due to their budgetary constraints, non-profits cannot afford monetary perks to motivate employees as other organizations, such as MNCs, can afford to do. Non-profit employees, however, can be compensated for the absence of major monetary benefits in other ways. Not-for-profit organizations can contribute to employee motivation in ways that make he job experience more interesting for the employees, thereby making their lives easier while working at the particular organization in question. Food discounts, merchandise discounts, credit union memberships, program discounts and most importantly, satisfying the employees need for knowledge by providing them the opportunity to learn are some of the factors the non-profits can use in order to keep up their morale and sustain their performance levels to meet organizational goals. It is important to for these organizations to keep in mind that alignment of employee goals and performance with organizational goals is vital for the organization, especially in the case of non-profits where the outcome of the organizational decisions mostly concerns the community at large. Motivation programs should incorporate individual goals so that employees feel a personal responsibility to achieve them as effectively as possible, and such programs should be designed under a uniform and systematic organizational structure while keeping in mind individual motivating factors of the workforce.

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