Non-financial Motivation (AQA A Level Business): Revision Note

Delegation, empowerment and job enrichment

• Non-financial motivation refers to methods of increasing employee effort, engagement and satisfaction that do not rely on monetary reward

  • These methods tend to address the higher-level needs identified by Maslow and align closely with motivators identified by Herzberg

Delegation

• Delegation means passing authority and responsibility for a specific task or decision to a subordinate, while the manager retains overall accountability for the outcome

  • E.g. A store manager delegates responsibility for staff scheduling to a senior team leader

Advantages and disadvantages of delegation

Example

Spotify organises its workforce into small, self-managing teams called 'squads'

Each squad is given authority to develop, test and launch product features independently, without seeking approval from senior management for every decision.

For Spotify, delegation, when supported by clear goals and genuine trust, speeds up decision-making and increases employee ownership of outcomes

Empowerment

• Empowerment means giving employees greater autonomy and control over how they carry out their work, including the authority to make decisions without seeking managerial approval

  • E.g. Customer service staff empowered to resolve complaints and offer refunds without needing a manager to sign them off

Advantages and disadvantages of empowerment

Example

Google gives its engineers '20% time' - the freedom to spend one day per week working on projects of their own choosing, unrelated to their main role

This empowerment has been credited with producing some of Google's most successful products, including Gmail and Google Maps, demonstrating that giving employees genuine autonomy can lead to important innovations

Job enrichment

• Job enrichment means redesigning a role to make it more motivating by adding tasks that involve greater skill, variety and responsibility

  • E.g. A customer service representative is given authority to resolve complaints independently rather than always escalating them to a manager

Advantages and disadvantages of job enrichment

Example

Toyota gives factory workers the authority to stop the entire assembly line if they identify a quality problem rather than simply passing defective work further down the line

This approach has contributed to Toyota's reputation for consistently high build quality and strong levels of employee engagement on the factory floor

Training and development

• Training equips employees with the skills and knowledge needed to perform their current role effectively

• Development builds capabilities and prepares employees for future roles and responsibilities

Advantages and disadvantages of training and development

Example

US warehouse retailer Costco is consistently ranked among the best large employers

A key reason is its commitment to promoting from within — the majority of Costco's senior managers began in entry-level roles

By investing in employee development and creating clear career pathways, Costco reduces recruitment costs, retains institutional knowledge and ensures its workforce is aware that progression is genuinely available, increasing motivation and loyalty across the business

Remote, hybrid and flexible working

• Remote working is where employees work entirely outside the employer's premises, typically from home

  • E.g. Save My Exams operates a fully remote model, with no requirement for employees to attend an office

• Hybrid working involves employees splitting their time between remote working and attending the workplace

  • E.g. HSBC operates a hybrid model, with most employees spending two to three days per week in the office

• Flexible working gives employees control over when and where they work

  • Arrangements include flexitime, compressed hours and part-time contracts

Advantages and disadvantages of remote, hybrid and flexible working

Example

Microsoft studied 60,000 of its own employees during the shift to remote working in 2020 and 2021

The research found that while employees reported improved work-life balance and higher individual productivity, informal knowledge-sharing declined

In response, Microsoft adopted a hybrid model, requiring employees to spend some time in the office each week to preserve team relationships while retaining the flexibility benefits of remote working