Are salaries sole motivator in public sector?

As the new chairperson and members of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) await to assume office, they already have their work clearly cut out.

As at the end of 2016/2017 financial year, Kenya’s total public wage bill stood at Sh676 billion, which was more than 50 per cent of revenue collection in that financial year. Out of the Sh676 billion, half was paid as salaries and allowances for the general civil servants and teachers whilst the other half went to paying public officers in other state institutions, corporations, commissions, tribunal and committees.

So, as they assume office, the commissioners will be embarking on a journey of setting and regularly reviewing the remuneration and benefits for public officers when the taxpayer is already overburdened by an expensive public wage bill.

Therefore, it will be worth noting for the incoming commissioners to consider: if salaries are really the sole motivator to high employee productivity, attraction and retention of employees in the public sector; and so, what other policy options should the commission consider for rewarding productivity as envisaged by Article 230 (5) of the Constitution on Kenya.Research across all employing entities whether public or private sectors show that salaries is the most used motivator and it works in motivating staff.

However, it is the expectation of a pay rise in the near future that is the compelling motivator to improve performance and not the salary rise itself. Surveys by Gallup, psychology as well as behavioural economics corroborate that motivation levels do not grow as salary rises - the moment an employee receives a salary raise, ability to influence and motivate employees ends very suddenly. So, what other existing factors are useful and sustainable motivators for performance other than salaries?

First, employees want to be engaged and appreciated for the good work they are doing or have done. For example, if a business is under performing and is starting to turn around, such achievements ought to be acknowledged and celebrated. This sends a signal to employees that the business is succeeding and inculcates a sense of pride among employees.

Second, employees always want to contribute for a purpose and be recognised accordingly.

Despite salary recognition being one of the ways, simply saying thank you and offering gift vouchers when an employee has done well has been proven to be effective because employees always want to know how much their efforts in contributing towards the organisation’s vision and mission. Purpose-driven motivation is the reason why volunteers receive no financial reward yet they perform an essential role during major sports events. For example, hundreds of volunteers participate in the annual Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon, over 70,000 volunteered during the 2012 London Olympics, and there were 17,040 volunteers at the 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup.

Third is the desire to get better or master something that matters to the organisation and the employees. The behavioural analysis here is that the predominant drivers of employee motivation are intrinsic rewards that provide a sense of meaningfulness, sense of choice in how one works, a sense of completeness and a sense of purpose.

It is for this reason that open source enterprises such as World Press, Moliza, Magento, OpenOffice and Ubuntu all have leveraged on the ability of zealous volunteers receiving no financial rewards to build world class products and services. Without these ingredients, majority of employees do not feel motivated enough to do the job no matter how much they are paid.

So, it’s incumbent upon the incoming SRC commissioners to explore ways of ensuring that not only does the commission review salaries for public officers, but also inculcates a sense of motivation among public servants by advising on alternative motivation mechanisms for ensuring government attracts and retain skills in the public sector.