In a working environment, witnessing one person with equal skills excel while another person fail is not a rare occurrence. Productivity and, hence, success depend not only on one’s skillset and qualification but also on intrinsic motivation and the level of effort. Chapter 7 dwells on the expectancy model of motivation, which aims to explain the connection between motivation and performance (Johnston & Marshall, 2020). According to the model, the level of effort applied to a particular task influences performance to a varying degree.
In this framework, performance has distinct dimensions, which, if applied to the field of sales, include total sales volume or new client attraction. In turn, the effort is compensated through a specific reward, be it a promotion or a raise in salary. Through the lens of the expectancy theory, equally skilled workers may differ in performance due to unequal rewards or discrepancies in their motivation levels. The latter depends on the perceived connection between a certain level of input and desirable performance, as well as the attractiveness of the reward.
The application of the expectancy model extends beyond individual intrinsic factors. As seen in the exhibit 7.3, the expectancy theory postulates that organizational characteristics have a massive effect on one’s expectancy and, thus, motivation (Johnston & Marshall, 2020). The Jason Benjamin challenge presents a scenario where a formerly exceptional worker has lost his motivation and performance as his time in the company increases. The exact reasons for Jason losing his motivation are not presented in the prompt; however, it would be reasonable to infer that it occurred due to a lack of attractive organizational characteristics. Simply put, Jason’s level of out was not met with the appropriate reward. As his position in the organization stayed stagnant for years, he concluded that exceeding a certain threshold of effort was not worth it. The solution to this problem would be offering him better-working conditions, a promotion, or assigning new roles to him.
Young and passionate alpha types incline to be competitive and, to a degree, not susceptible to organizational hierarchy, which manifests in their tendency not to pay due respect to the senior workers. In this leadership scenario, one possible solution is to apply stages of career development. According to this model, these stages include exploration, establishment, maintenance, and disengagement (Johnston & Marshall, 2020). Newcoming employees will always fall into the first two categories with the highest dropout rate. Leadership must make new employees aware of a clear hierarchy that implies respect for seniors but does not restrict creativity and ambition to preserve motivation. Newcomers need to be instructed on the adversities of disruptive behavior and taught teamwork. The clear distinction between management and regular employees will allow them to form adequate expectations of the company and show them the benefits of learning from seasoned workers.
Appropriate monetary compensation is an essential constituent of any reward system. However, money is not the only way to reward an employee. In fact, focusing solely on monetary reward might subtract from the values of the role or organizational environment, compromising sales recruitment. Organizations should focus on diversifying the reward systems via inclusion of non-monetary means of compensation. Companies with developed reward systems inevitably outperform competitors with a lack thereof (Johnston & Marshall, 2020). In fact, this is accurately demonstrated in the aforementioned Jason Benjamin scenario. External sources of motivation are plentiful and diverse and should be capitalized equally to facilitate employee expectancy.
Reference
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2020). Salesperson Performance: Motivating the Sales Force. In Sales force management leadership, innovation, technology (pp. 223–254). essay, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.