Investigating employee motivation in a Gauteng retirement fund company

Abstract

Motivated employees contribute to the wellbeing of the employee as well as the success of the company. Each and every person is motivated differently and at a different level. One of the biggest challenges for an organisation is to find out how it can motivate employees to ensure job satisfaction and improve employee efficiency and productivity. The objective of this study is to determine how employees of a retirement fund company in Centurion, Gauteng believe they are motivated and how the company is performing in meeting the expectation for motivation of the employees. A comprehensive literature study was done to investigate the theories on motivation. A structured questionnaire was compiled based on the factors of motivation identified in the literature study by the author in collaboration with the Statistical Consultation Service of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. Data was captured by the researcher and analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultation Services. Based on the results of the data analysis, it is recommended that managers focus on areas identified as important motivators by the employees to improve overall motivation in the workplace. The results also improve the understanding of the managers as to how their employees want to be motivated and how they are currently performing to those expectations.