The perceived influence of performance based reward system on employee motivation in Barclays bank of Kenya head office

Abstract

Performance-based reward systems have a long history. In the last ten years, a number of countries have adopted pay-for-performance strategies to modify the traditional salary scales. The distinguishing feature of a performance-based scheme is that it rewards or sanctions employees based upon some form of performance evaluation Individuals who are possessing extrinsic motivation will be motivated by the stimuli coming outside the individual and their motivation will be the sum of efforts made to motivate them in an organizational context in forms of rewards, promotion and pay increases. Intrinsic motivation is more powerful in the long run and deeper in meaning as it is integrated in the individual and not coming from the outside whereas the extrinsic motivation might have powerful and visible effects first but these are not lasting long as the stimuli is coming outside the individual. This study aimed at determining the perceived influence of performance based reward systems on employee motivation in Barclays Bank of Kenya head office. This was a descriptive survey. The population of the study was the staff of Barclays Bank of Kenya at the head office which has a population of 883 employees. The sample size was 88 employees which constitutes 10 percent of the population. Random sampling was used to select employees from the different departments. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire; the use of a questionnaire has been selected because it is structured and provides accurate information from the respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, mode, median, standard deviation and frequency. This was then presented using graphs, pie charts and tables. This study established that the employees were not encouraged to use their own judgement when doing their job. Involving employees in decision making motivates them to work harder. This study therefore recommends that the management of organisations should vi involve their employees in decision making and encourage them to use their own judgement when doing their job. The study also established that the employees were not praised for doing a good job. Recognition for good work done motivates an employee to work even harder. This study therefore recommends that organisations’ management should ensure that their employees get monetary or non-monetary recognition for good work done.