Staff Involvement

Why Staff Involvement is Key:

Staff involvement refers to including employees in the decision-making process of the firm (rather than just owners and managers). This requires giving them the necessary skills and rewards for this involvement.

Employees are a firm’s most vital resource; innovations and ideas for improvement come from the people doing the work. By motivating, respecting and valuing staff involvement in firm decisions, a firm can gain new and better ways of doing business, lifting performance.

When employees are involved, they take responsibility for the firm rather than see it as the property of owners / managers. They become invested in the success of the firm.  

Motivation:

Motivation refers to the degree to which a person desires to do something.

Motivated employees are more productive for a firm; which results overall in greater business performance. Employees are the ones doing the work of a firm; serving the customers face to face or making the products that will be used by the customer. It is critical that they are positively motivated to work well for the firm.

Management is responsible for generating a positive culture that motivates employees to perform at their best. Usually, firms use a ‘carrot and stick’ method; whereby employees are rewarded for performing well and threatened in not. The use of rewards and punishments is limited.

Intrinsic motivation is key; matching the purpose of the firm to the purpose of individuals is more effective in creating a motivated workforce (beliefs, values, causes).

Training:

Training refers to the improvement of the skills and capabilities of staff through providing learning activities. 

The workplace is constantly changing; external and internal influences force firm’s to continually invest in the skills of its workforce. If the human capacity within the firm falls behind what is outside, the mismatch will lead to failure.

Employees with improved skills through training:

• Are more efficient and effective at what they do (improved performance)

• Can adapt better to new situations

• Can participate in teams more effectively (better contributions)

Mentoring:

Mentoring involves matching senior people in a firm to a younger person in the firm in order to develop and provide professional and personal guidance.

Mentors act as role models for the younger employee. Mentoring helps a firm to pass on skills and perspectives throughout the firm. It also increases the loyalty of employees to the firm.

It is beneficial because:

• Employees know what is expected

• Provides support networks throughout the firm

• Decentralises the guidance and motivation of staff

• Increases skills transfer through the firm.