EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION THROUGH FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL INCENTIVES: INSIGHTS FROM A NIGERIAN BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING FIRM

Abstract

Employees form the centre piece of the organization, and to thrive in thiscompetitive world of business, the motivation of employees should be paramount, as it aidsthe performance of the employees. The study was conducted in a business processoutsourcing firm that combines global manpower outsourcing and call centre operations fortwo telecommunication companies. The study examined the relationship between financialincentives and nonfinancial incentives, as it relates to employee performance andorganizational profitability. The Herzberg’s Two Factor and Reserve Army of Labour theorywere utilized in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used. Amultistage sampling procedure consisting of purposive, stratified, and simple randomsampling was adopted. Two hundred and fifty-two questionnaires and eight in-depthinterviews were administered to elicit information. The quantitative data were analysed viathe Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and the qualitative data were analysed.Employees agreed that financial motivation is capable of spurring them to better perform andthat they worked to their maximum creative potential when their financial needs were met.Nonfinancial incentives such as medical insurance, housing allowances, educationalassistance, involvement in decision making would provide a sense of fulfilment to employeesand enhance their performance.