The Paper began with an Introduction to the topic by addressing the necessity of Compensation in the Employer and employee relationship. Compensation may be expressed through monetary or non-monetary means in order to pay the employee for service performed. It has been established that monetary gains is the more popular way of compensating but cannot be used as the sole means on benefiting employees. Thus there are non-monetary means of compensation. Compensation is placed in the context of organizations which would need to retain their top-skilled employees in an industry that is highly competitive such as the Information Technology Industry. The paper then expressed its intention to focus on the sufficiency and significance of non-monetary strategies in order to retain such workers knowing the insufficiency of monetary strategies. The discussion of non-monetary strategies involved a discourse on employee motivation, the very basic root. It has been explained that IT workers are particularly very ambitious learners and always on the look out for challenges and opportunities but if they are taken back to the basics, they still qualify as employees who normally would aspire for motivation in order to perform their given work.
The study intended to tackle the topic on two levels: First to define non-monetary strategies and secondly to supply the over-all description regarding the Information Technology or IT worker through a comprehensive research on employee motivation theories and latest articles and publications regarding the IT worker, the existent compensation schemes of this very versatile worker in the midst of a volatile and competitive market. This should suggest retention techniques and whether or not this has been met with success. Finally, the study intended to merge all such data in order to find out if non-monetary strategies may be adequate for an organization to retain its top talents.
It was stressed in the First chapter that IT worker maintenance is so difficult but that non-monetary strategies are workable and possible. In fact, it suggested that IT workers prioritize non-monetary compensations. It had also introduced the current problem of IT shortage due to high turnover in lieu of the volatile nature of the job and the industry. Retention is also critical because there is a prevailing shortage that will make it increasingly difficult to attract replacements, and not without incurring large costs. Having an IT shortage is one thing, finding a top-skilled talent that will meet all such requirement is another. This even emphasizes all the more why retention is essential not only so much in saving up expenses and avoid interruptions in services and productions, but also as a means to preserve invaluable talent. To have a top-skilled IT talent depart will lead to a sequence of other detrimental effects besides work interruptions such as increased costs incurred, the slowing down of operations, unfinished tasks which all would contribute to a poor customer service and conflict in meeting goals and deadlines on time. IT talents are not only economic assets but they are very well the intellectual sources of the company.
The study is significant because of IT’s pervasiveness in any industry and organization. In order to reach the next level to technological advancement and progress, organizations need to adapt to this by employing IT workers. For that IT workers are highly in demand, pursued and given better offers that will lead them to change jobs (or to job hop) at a high rate. Thus it is more critical to even retain IT workers especially those with top skills. They are economic assets and keys to growth for the organizations. It has been determined that IT workers’ motivations are largely non-monetary which is practical and, if done properly, would assure retention more effectively than monetary strategies. Thus this study intended to find out.
The Review of Related Literature largely dealt with the first level of discussion which is about non-monetary strategies or employee motivations. It elaborated the manners in which employees may be psychologically conditioned to maximize performance and output. This portion stressed that IT workers are like any other employees, or human beings for that matter that have their certain needs, wants and interests that may be stimulated and encouraged.
The chapter defined Employee Motivation and detailed Four Key Motivational Theories. The Four Key Motivational Theories were firstly Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” which was a set of five needs, emphasizing self-actualization in the end as the highest need. This is clearly a non-monetary strategy and something that may be actualized by intrinsic motivations.
The second is Two Factor Theory which simply puts two factors influencing employees: Hygiene Factors and Motivation Factors. One factor as meeting the Human needs, and the second the Animal needs. This is an essential division because it suggested as much how these two factors are different. One is long-term satisfaction while another is expendable, consumable and short-term like a sentient animal. This sets the bar between the rational and the sentient needs and how there must be a distinction between, what monetary strategies can satisfy and what it can’t. This also proves that there needs to be a weighing of priorities and interests.
The third theory was Theory X and Y which are perceptions of human beings. Finally, there is Expectancy Theory which holds that employees decide to whatever brings them the most pleasure and least pain and this is through a synchronization of effort and performance.
Other theories were also mentioned that emphasized that man has a variety of interests and needs most of which suggests that work satisfaction and participation is more important than financial rewards. These are attainable by non-monetary strategies through encouragement and psychological rewards than physical. Also, employees always want to achieve in their fields and this will be more apparent in IT workers who are very ambitious and competitive.
Achievement is a state of mind than the financial resources. They only want to express themselves through work more than just surviving through work (which would lead to a monetary related motivation). The chapter also provided the justification why top-skilled talents are assets when retained and losses when they shift employment.
The Methodology chapter detailed the steps the study has undertaken in the accomplishment of the study. The study intended to undergo a Qualitative Research approach which as said earlier is essential because it gathers current and existing information regarding the state of IT workers as well as the strategies used in their retention. The Methodology has also justified this research methodology as something that is flexible and adaptive. It is also open to any kind of approaches promoting freedom and the discretion of the researcher. It is open to several data and processes.
The research stance taken is the Interpretevist Research Approach which considers study situations as complex in their own right and needed to be taken subjectively in order to fully comprehend. Thus it positions the researcher in an authoritative and commanding seat determining the interpretation as well as the outcome of the study.
The chapter also intended to use secondary data for the research to be processed and analyzed by Content Analysis. The content analysis synthesizes data into a qualitative format which makes sense of texts and their meanings and relationships with others. It has binding properties that links the data to be used and compiles credible data for analytical support.
In the Analysis portion, acquired data was established emphasizing the fact that every IT worker is a human being who share needs towards self-fulfillment like any other. Thus it was only necessary for the study to tackle on motivation firstly.
It also stressed the tendency of the individual to indeed lean towards self-actualization. Monetary rewards were emphasized as being a short-term compensation that is expendable and not entirely satisfying. If any, it only satisfies animal needs rather the human needs towards talent, intellect and rational. This can only be performed by constant learning which lead to skills and knowledge acquisition which may be supported by feedback, praises as well as training and development. Clearly, the inclination here is that non-monetary strategies may in fact be significant.
After tackling the IT worker as a human being, the discussion moved on to the milieu of this human worker, the highly competitive, ever-changing and ambitious IT industry which truly challenges constant innovation and improvement in such a tremendous rate. However, the study also determined that monetary strategies are on many accounts effective in retention perceivably in existent studies mentioned.
Studies cited revealed the high regard and priority of money in agreeing to stay in an employment. But what the studies also reveal is that there are definitely several outside factors responsible also for such a choice. These IT workers in particular put a high priority in management and culture, thus employers and organization.
There is also the survey that revealed their ambition towards further growth in an environment that indeed required further growth. Equal to higher compensation is the desire for better learning opportunities.
It is immediately clear that monetary strategies are only one of the many, and though it may be ranked highly, it may be influenced by other non-monetary strategies. The study reveals the human nature of an IT worker seeking comfort and an environment to meet needs of socialization, communication, expression and achievement.
Financial rewards are nothing if training, management support and a workable culture is present. Monetary strategies are thus insufficient although one of the preferences. IT workers incline to comfort and something appealing to the human limitations and qualities than increased rewards.
Non-monetary strategies overwhelm priorities but one must not deny the luring power of monetary strategies in retaining. The fact remains that the IT market is considered as very competitive and high in their turnover rates because the IT workers are looking for challenges and money.
The study recommends then a mixture of both strategies. What the study revealed about non-monetary strategies is their utter significance in the retention. IT workers are similar as any other employee and thus the retention strategies used for others should speak the same for them.
This is to find fulfillment and actualization in the employee and finding out the fruits of their labor and contributions to the organization. These are people organizations should be dealing with and not merely as economic assets. They are concerned of culture and working environment because they too are dynamic and responsive workers. They need to be able to grow as the organizations grow along. It is about attaining self goals.
Monetary strategies may motivate an IT employee to report to work, but to have this employee aspire towards the growth and development of the organization, and to be united to its goal, it will take dedication, such that can be inspired by non-monetary strategies, those that directly strikes at the human nature of IT workers. Monetary strategies would only lead to higher turnover rate, with nothing solid for the employee to hang on but expendable financial resources. A salary increase only compels employees to want more of these monetary strategies and job hop. Strategies need to be focused on the person itself. The trick is not to keep them in the company for merely financial means but to forge dedication, commitment and loyalty to the employers or organizations which would yield to positive effects such as retention. Monetary strategies can control, but not sufficient to create commitment. In fact, companies need only to have fair and sufficient salaries than a totally high amount to retain an employee for as long as they are provided other, intrinsic rewards. These rewards would fuel interest and a challenge to the IT worker’s employees which would then allow higher satisfaction and engage themselves to organizational mission and vision. This also involves management support (which would involve involvement and empowerment) and workable culture in such a way that employees are empowered participants and given a variety of tasks.
Being Dynamic workers, there is really no specific procedure or strategies. It will depend and it will vary between a mixture of monetary and non-monetary strategies but the latter needs to be highly invested upon much rather the former.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment