3.5 Motivation & Retention Flashcards
All 25 cards in this deck
What is a salary?
A fixed yearly amount of pay, usually paid in equal monthly instalments, which does not change with the number of hours worked.
What is a wage?
Pay based on the number of hours worked (a time rate) or the amount produced (a piece rate), often paid weekly.
What is profit sharing?
A method of payment where employees receive a share of the business's profits when it is successful.
True or false? Fringe benefits are a financial method of motivation.
True. Fringe benefits, such as a company car or staff discount, are a financial method alongside pay, bonuses and profit sharing.
What is staff retention?
How well a business keeps its employees, so that fewer leave and need to be replaced.
What is a bonus as a method of motivation?
An extra payment on top of normal pay, given for good performance or for meeting a target.
What are fringe benefits?
Extra rewards given to employees on top of pay, e.g. a company car, staff discount or private healthcare.
Give one non-financial method of motivating employees.
Any one of: praise; award schemes; a good working environment.
What is motivation in a business?
The desire or willingness of employees to work hard and do their job well.
Give one advantage to a business of having motivated employees.
Productivity rises, so the cost of producing each product falls and the profit margin rises.
How does motivation help a business retain employees?
Employees enjoy working there, so they are less likely to leave and the business avoids recruitment costs.
Name four financial methods of motivation.
Pay, bonuses, profit sharing and fringe benefits.
Give one drawback to a business of using financial methods of motivation such as bonuses.
They increase the business's costs, which reduces profit.
What is an award scheme as a method of motivation?
Recognising good work with a prize or title, e.g. employee of the month, certificates or badges.
How does motivation affect the quality of a business's output?
Motivated employees make fewer mistakes and produce higher quality goods.
Other than saving recruitment costs, give one benefit to a business of retaining employees.
They are already familiar with the business and its customers, so they work effectively without needing to be trained again.
How can better motivation reduce a business's absence costs?
Motivated employees take fewer days off, so the business pays less for sick pay or cover staff and loses less output.
How can good motivation make recruitment easier?
The business gains a reputation as a good employer, so more people apply and it has a better choice of candidates.
Give one drawback of paying employees a time rate.
Pay depends only on the hours worked, not on how much or how well they work, so it gives little reason to work harder.
How does paying more than competitors help a business keep and attract staff?
Employees are less likely to leave for better pay elsewhere, and higher pay attracts more applicants for vacancies.
Why must bonus targets be realistic?
If employees think a target cannot be reached, the bonus will not motivate them to try.
Give one drawback to the owners of a business of a profit-sharing scheme.
Profit paid to employees is not available to the owners, e.g. shareholders may receive lower dividends.
How does praise motivate employees?
It shows that their effort has been noticed and valued, which makes them feel good about their work; public praise also shows others what the business expects.
Give one advantage to a business of non-financial methods of motivation.
They can cost little or nothing, e.g. praise, so they motivate staff without adding much to costs.
What does a good working environment include?
Both a safe, comfortable physical workplace and a positive atmosphere, where employees are treated with respect, trusted and get on well with colleagues.