Is Pay-for-Performance Enough to Motivate Employees?
Compensation ≠ Motivation
As companies strive to improve their business operations, they have started to implement pay-for-performance systems to motivate their employees to be more productive. However, this approach may not always work, particularly for creative tasks where intrinsic motivation plays a crucial role in driving performance.
When it comes to creative tasks, individuals require an environment that enables freedom, autonomy, and passion. Implementing a pay-for-performance system restrains creative freedom and puts unnecessary pressure on individuals. Creative tasks often require a deep level of immersion, and the performance-based approach tends to take away the creativity’s natural flow.
Secondly, extrinsic rewards like money have been known to kill intrinsic motivation. Meaning, people perform better when they are motivated by internal incentives like passion, rather than external incentives like money or recognition. If an individual is only working for a reward, then their passion and natural drive to perform outstandingly may be repressed.
To achieve the best performance from creative people, the acquisition process plays a vital role. Firstly, companies must pay their employees enough to get them onboard. Once on board, they must do everything possible to get money out of their minds and create a conducive environment that motivates their internal drivers. Paying more money doesn’t mean better quality output. There must be a balance between creativity, intrinsic motivation, and just compensation.
Thirdly, money can affect how people collaborate, destroying the social dynamic in a team. Creative tasks require collaboration, and the quality and uniqueness of the output depend on the quality of teamwork. When money is introduced as a reward, it can lead to unhealthy competition amongst the team members and destroy the quality of collaboration.
Lastly, contribution to the team or organization must be the primary reward; even the slightest sense of inequality can destroy an individual’s motivation to participate and contribute. It creates a culture of resentment and lack of productivity, lowering the team’s cohesion, and always striving for individual performance.
Creative tasks require intrinsic motivation, not a pay-for-performance system. Effective acquisition, creating a conducive environment, and fair contribution rewards cultivate the creativity necessary for groundbreaking ideas and superior output. It is imperative for companies to strike a balance between payment and intrinsic motivation, understanding that intrinsic motivation drives the most exceptional performers.
