In many companies, people are the most valuable production resources available to the organization. Proper management of this human potential cannot only be achieved by offering good employment conditions or a good salary; human potential must also be converted into actual performance. The latter involves more than employment conditions and salary, as delivering a performance also depends on knowledge and skills, motivation and preconditions.
Increasing performance
There are various theories in circulation that claim to be able to analyze or increase employee performance, one of which is the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). This theory is currently the leading theory in the field, not only because of the overwhelming supporting evidence to date; but also because of the theory’s capacity to incorporate some older theories that have also proven to be valid so far (for example goal setting and equity theory). The SDT is based on three elements that enable performance. Performance is the result of the knowledge and skills of the employee, the motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) of the employee and the preconditions for the employee.
Motivation and performance
Within SDT, an employee’s motivation can be divided into extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is a forced motivation; external causes motivate a person to produce work. An example of this is, for example, if an employee can expect a sanction if he does not perform the work, or if an employee is paid per product delivered. As a result, an employee is extrinsically motivated to do his work, even though he would not do so on his own. Intrinsic motivation is the opposite of this; an intrinsically motivated employee does something because he/she actually enjoys it. For example, a hobby is often intrinsically motivated, the work is done because the person actually enjoys it. The distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic cannot be seen as black and white as it is portrayed here; There is a guiding scale from, for example, heavy coercion (extrinsic) to an extrinsic motivation through imposed norms/values that the person agrees with and an extrinsic motivation in which a person also propagates the values and norms himself. If these values and norms are really the ideas of the person himself, there is intrinsic motivation.
When is there the best performance, with extrinsic or intrinsic motivation? Various studies have shown that extrinsic motivation works best with very simple repetitive tasks, such as assembly line work. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, appears to be much more effective than extrinsic motivation in more difficult tasks, which require some cognitive input.
Knowledge, skills and performance
Knowledge and skills seem to be a logical factor for increasing an employee’s performance, but they are often underestimated. Knowledge and skills cannot be seen as something that must initially be present in an employee, but then no longer need to be maintained. It is precisely the maintenance of knowledge and skills that is essential, as companies and the environment surrounding companies are constantly changing and not every employee will be able to incorporate these movements into his/her knowledge and skills on their own. Education and training are essential for this. There is also another problem with promotion; a promotion requires new knowledge and skills that the employee often does not have, while this is expected. Here too, some education or training will be necessary and in the preliminary phase it must be carefully assessed whether the employee is actually suitable for such a position. A good watchmaker is not a good team leader; a frequently heard statement is that people are promoted to their level of inability. This means that someone continues to rise through the ranks until they reach a position they cannot do. Someone then gets stuck on this position; promoted to the level of inability.
Preconditions and performance
Good preconditions are necessary to enable good performance. This again seems logical, but it is not just about nice offices and a good coffee machine; Even more important is the manager’s interaction with his/her staff. Employees should be challenged and provided with variety in the work; employees must receive trust and responsibility from the employer. It is precisely this that can increase an employee’s performance. An employee who is explained in detail about all assignments therefore generally performs worse than an employee who is only explained the framework of an assignment. Within defense the latter is called mission-oriented command and control; The person who actually completes the job can also respond directly to the circumstances of the job, instead of the manager who is further away.