Issue Briefs

Following is the summary of an MSPB report on what motivates federal employees.


Motivating employees to perform at a high level and encouraging their engagementare essential to an efficient and effective Federal Government. Having skilled, engagedemployees is more important than ever, especially in light of austere fiscal conditions,budget constraints, impending retirements, and public debate over the value of Federalemployees and their work. Previous MSPB research has shown the importance ofemployee engagement for several desirable organizational outcomes, and has discussedthe importance of supervisory performance management practices for employeeengagement. Building on that research, this report focuses on helping Federal agencies,Federal managers and supervisors, and other stakeholders better understand how jobcharacteristics and rewards can support employee motivation and encourage engagementand performance. This report—

* Discusses the importance of 5 job characteristics for supporting employeemotivation: (1) skill variety, (2) task identity, (3) task significance, (4) autonomy, and(5) feedback;

* Examines the relationship between Federal employees’ perceptions of these job

characteristics with their motivation and performance, and discusses results from

a diagnostic tool (the Motivation Potential Level) used to gauge the motivational

quality of job characteristics;

* Provides strategies for improving job characteristics, such as job enlargement,enrichment, and rotation, as well as communicating how jobs contribute to missionaccomplishment;

* Discusses the importance of connecting desired rewards to employees’ effort andperformance, for supporting employee motivation;

* Examines the importance that Federal employees place on various rewards such asawards and bonuses, personal satisfaction, and developmental opportunities;

* Examines employees’ perceptions of the connections between their effort andperformance and the rewards that agencies provide, and discusses results from a

diagnostic tool (the Motivation Force Score) used to gauge the motivational qualityof rewards;

* Provides diagnostic tools3 (the Motivation Potential Level and the Motivation ForceScore mentioned above) that Federal agencies can use to identify strengths andopportunities for improvement in job design and rewards, respectively; and

* Discusses elements of effective reward programs, such as using sound performancemanagement practices, communicating the availability of rewards and conditionsfor receiving them, providing rewards that employees value, and making fair andtransparent reward decisions.

Findings

Motivation Among Federal Employees

Most Federal employees view themselves as motivated, with 71 percent agreeing orstrongly agreeing with the statement, "I feel highly motivated in my work." Agreementvaried considerably across Federal agencies, ranging from 62 percent to 77 percent. Thisrange suggests that motivation can be shaped by features of the work environment.Further, it is clear that there is room to improve motivation. We focused on how jobcharacteristics and rewards could present opportunities for this improvement.

Job Characteristics

Job characteristics such as autonomy (the freedom to decide how to accomplish workassignments), skill variety, and feedback affect employee motivation and performance.For example, employees in jobs with high perceived levels of autonomy are more likely tobe highly motivated—and perform at a higher level—than employees who believe thatthey have little autonomy.

Federal agencies have considerable opportunity to design jobs or adjust workingconditions to make them more motivating. In our survey, we computed a MotivationPotential Level to gauge how a survey respondent viewed the characteristics of his or herjob. Only 21 percent of Federal employees had a high Motivation Potential Level. Thisfinding suggests that although at a general level Federal employees feel motivated in theirwork, job characteristics are an area where potential improvements in motivation canbe made. In other words, agencies can take action to influence motivation through jobcharacteristics.

Rewards

Federal employees are not motivated solely, or even primarily, by monetary rewards.For example, larger percentages of Federal employees rated non-monetary rewardssuch as, "The personal satisfaction I experience," "Having interesting work," "My jobsecurity," and "Being able to serve the public," as important to seeking and continuingemployment with their organization than, "My awards and bonuses." In fact, of theeleven rewards that we asked about, eight non-monetary rewards were rated as importantby more Federal employees than awards and bonuses. This pattern is encouraging,especially given the budget and resource constraints that many Federal agencies currentlyface.

However, Federal agencies can do more to design and deliver effective rewards. Forrewards to be effective—to elicit effort and reinforce desired behaviors and results—Federal agencies need to give the right rewards in the right way. Employees who sawa strong connection between effort and outcomes (results achieved and the receipt ofvalued rewards) were more likely to perform at a high level than employees who viewedthat connection as weak.

Unfortunately, most Federal employees did not see a strong connection between theirwork effort, performance rating, and rewards. In our study, we computed a MotivationForce Score6 to gauge the strength of this connection. Only 23 percent of Federalemployees had a high Motivation Force Score. Although Federal employees appear tovalue the rewards that agencies provide, many perceive the connection between theireffort and performance or the connection between their performance and rewards asweak or unclear. In other words, rewards are another area where agencies can take actionto influence motivation.

Recommendations

Job Characteristics

Good job design—structuring jobs to maximize desirable characteristics—supportsorganizational efficiency and effectiveness. This is because job characteristics canimpact employee motivation, a necessary ingredient for engagement and performance.Managers and supervisors should determine the extent to which their employees’ jobshave motivating characteristics. Such characteristics include:

* Performing a variety of tasks that require a wide range of knowledge, skills, and

abilities;

* Completing whole pieces of work or projects;

* Having a significant impact through work;

* Exercising autonomy in scheduling and performing work; and

* Receiving appropriate feedback.

More specific recommendations for these job characteristics can be found in the body

and conclusion of this report.

In the event that improvements could be made to job characteristics to better supportmotivation and engagement, and to the extent permitted by mission requirementsand employees’ capabilities, managers and supervisors should work with relevantorganizational leaders and employee representatives to design and implement changes.

Improvements could include:

* Enlarging the duties of a job to increase the knowledge and skill sets that employees

must apply to tasks;

* Rotating employees among jobs to increase their skill sets; or

* Enriching jobs by increasing employees’ independence, responsibility, and

accountability.

Agency leaders should also emphasize to employees the significance of their work andhow it contributes to accomplishing goals; supports the organization’s mission; andbenefits the general public.

Rewards

Employees’ perceptions of their rewards and the connection between the effort theyexert, the success they anticipate, and the rewards they receive can influence theirmotivation and job performance. Sound supervisory performance management practiceswill be critical to help employees see connections between their effort, performance,and rewards. However, agencies need to give the right rewards in the right way. Thisincludes:

* Offering a variety of rewards;

* Clearly communicating to employees the available types of rewards and the

conditions for receiving them;

* Avoiding the creation of expectations for rewards that cannot or will not be met later;

* Identifying the rewards that employees value and when possible, accommodatingsuch preferences when administering rewards. Agencies and managers shouldcarefully consider the readiness of their organizational culture and systems beforeproceeding. In particular, agencies must take care to assure that employees aretreated equitably—that "similarly situated employees are treated similarly"—even ifthey are not rewarded uniformly. For example, the standards for receiving rewardsshould be consistent across employees at the same performance level and the dollarvalueof different rewards should be comparable for employees in a given position atthe same performance level; and

* Administering rewards in a fair and transparent manner, consistent with applicableagency policies and procedures.

 

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