Ann Marie Nicely, Contributor

If you ask the man on the street if his boss paid him more, would he work any harder? His answer would be definitely 'yes'. But the truth of the matter is money is only a short-term motivator.

Workers tend to be motivated to the point when they receive their wages. Therefore, the longer the pay period, the lower the impact of money as a stimulator of performance. This is one of the defences for tipping in hospitality business, because tips serve as a series of short-term motivators. So money euphoria is very short-lived.

Generally, once persons get paid there is a period of happiness and maybe a boost in performance but this quickly changes to average or below average output.

According to researchers, if you want to keep your workers motivated on a sustained basis then you must make the work interesting, give your employees responsibilities, create opportunities for advancement and recognise good performance. Some simple ways of making work interesting is designing jobs so that persons are not just engaged in the process but are able to see the end product as well. It is also advisable to rotate workers and for supervisors to sometimes assist with those necessary but boring tasks. Also from time to time move back-of-house persons so that they are working and engaging in tasks in the front-of the-house.

delegation

Delegate responsibilities to workers with the required ability but most importantly, to persons up to the challenge. Ensure that during delegation there is short-term transfer of power and that the relevant persons within the organisation are aware of this. This would be a big moral booster for the employee. Provide the delegated employee with enough information so that they succeed. Demonstrate trust in that person's ability. But the cardinal rule is to avoid delegating to persons who simply do not want the added responsibility. If you do, it would be the recipe for disaster. Also, praise excellent performance immediately, with sincerity and if possible in front of their peers.

Support of 'non-monetary' forms of motivation as a means of sustaining high levels of productivity should not be construed as justification for employers to pay workers low wages. One just needs to look at strained labor relations in Jamaica to conclude that poorly paid workers equal dissatisfied workers.

Hotel workers engaged in full-time employment should be able, at minimum, to feed, educate and provide a safe environment for their families.

I also disagree with the view that when employees enter the workplace they should leave their problems at the door. The responsibility of every worker in a hotel from the plumber to the concierge is to create a memorable experience for the guest. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for employees with personal challenges to create happy guests and as such more will be required of hoteliers to assist in this area.

But are supervisors and managers motivated the same way as line staff? My simple answer is 'no' but that discussion is reserved for another time.