Motivation in the Retail Industry

Motivation in the Retail Industry

In a beautiful jewelry boutique located on the South Shore of Montreal, four women in their twenties supervise the store, waiting for customers to walk in. They seem happy to work at the world’s third largest jewelry company but is it solely a disguise? According to Service Canada, individuals aged 15 to 24 make up 38.9% of those employed by the sales and service industry, making them the most represented age group in this sector ("Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks"). This surprising fact might provoke one to ask themselves why youth are being solicited by retail employers. Is it possibly due to the fact that they are easier to motivate in these lower paying jobs? Individuals might even wonder what the main sources of motivation are for young retail employees.

The following article will explore if young employees in retail stores are more motivated to engage in learning and innovative behaviours when they are given opportunities for growth in their specific jobs through incentives and freedom.

The results of this study have been linked to both Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivation and Abraham Harold Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. Herzberg’s theory divides motivation and job satisfaction into two different groups of factors: motivating factors and hygiene factors.  “Motivating factors are the six ‘job content’ factors that include achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, and possibility of growth.  Hygiene factors are the ‘job content’ factors, which include company policy, supervision, relationship with supervision, work conditions, relationship with peers, salary, personal life, relationship with subordinates, status, and job security” (Ruthankoon, 2003). Abraham Maslow’s theory identifies five levels of hierarchical needs that every individual attempts to accomplish or conquer throughout one’s life (Schermerhorn, 2003).  The first needs that must be fulfilled are those which are physiological (e.g. hunger, thirst, shelter) (Schermerhorn, 2003). The next level of needs on the pyramid that are fulfilled are safety, social, and esteem needs (Schermerhorn, 2003). Finally, once all of the previous needs have been realized, one fulfills the ultimate need of self-actualization (Schermerhorn, 2003).  The pyramid shape of the theory is intended to show that some needs are more important than others and must be satisfied before the next level of needs can serve as motivators (Schermerhorn, 2003).

Importance of Wages & Benefits

  Based on the interviews conducted, several findings arose that were both consistent and inconsistent with these two theories.  The employees interviewed for this study expressed similar degrees of satisfaction towards their jobs. The factors having the greatest impact on their motivation at work were mostly related to their salary and their immediate work environment. Maslow refers to these as physiological needs, which represents the most important and basic needs that must be fulfilled in order to reach another level of motivation. Physiological needs are satisfied with one’s salary. Therefore, it is no surprise that salary was perceived as one of the most important components of retail store employees’ motivation. In fact, a trend emerged amongst those interviewed suggesting that having a commission-based salary has a positive impact on a salesperson’s motivation. Employees perceived commission as a motivator to work harder and make more sales. When asked if they would be more motivated with a commission-based salary (or less motivated with no commission in the case of those who already had commission-based salaries), 70% of respondents claimed that their motivation would increase if they made commission on their sales. Commission was seen as a form of recognition in the workplace by most of the employees. For instance, when one employee from American Apparel was asked if his level of motivation would decrease if the commission portion of his salary were eliminated, he responded: “Yes it would. It would make me feel as though my work was not recognized. I think the commission portion of our salary is an important part as to why we all come to work motivated to sell as much as we can.”

Young Employees

Young adults represent more than a third of those employed by the retail industry ("Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks"). It should also be taken into consideration that jobs in the retail industry are convenient for students as well as those looking to get work experience that could act as a stepping-stone to bigger and better forms of employment ("Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks"). This being said, it was found that the majority of the employees interviewed (all in their early twenties) were not interested in acquiring more responsibilities at their job. On the contrary, 80% stated that they would prefer a monetary raise over increased responsibilities with room for growth at their respective companies. Had the employees perceived their jobs as a long-term endeavour, the logical choice would be to take an opportunity for growth over an increased salary. Due to the fact that the majority of these young workers expressed a preference for money over growth in the industry, it can be concluded that retail work is perceived as temporary or as a student job by young employees.

These findings are not consistent with Fredrick Herzberg’s theory of motivation, as his theory states that responsibility, advancement and growth factors lead to satisfaction in the workplace (Herzberg, 1987). One could argue that young retail employees are satisfied by hygiene factors, namely money in the case of those interviewed, or that these young employees don’t seek satisfaction in their respective jobs since they don’t see themselves in these positions long-term. Based on the data collected from the individuals interviewed, one could speculate that the motivation of a retail store employee depends mostly on the intrinsic value he or she places on their job: more specifically, if he or she considers the job to be temporary or permanent.

In contrast, factors that Herzberg suggests lead to dissatisfaction were consistent with those that the employees interviewed reported lead to dissatisfaction in their workplace. Herzberg claims that factors such as salary, supervision, relationship with supervisor and work conditions are those which lead to dissatisfaction. While describing the negative emotions that stemmed from her relationship with her manager, one interviewed employee stated: “I'm very unhappy whenever I have to cross paths with her and constantly check the schedule to see if I have to see her on a particular day. If yes, my mood sours. If no, I'm happy”. In fact, when asked to describe an instance where they experienced negative sentiments toward their job, 80% of the employees interviewed identified a situation involving a customer that lead to poor work conditions. The remaining 20% singled out their relationship with their manager as being a factor which lead to negative sentiments in the workplace. This data confirms that sources of dissatisfaction amongst young retail employees are identical to those proposed by Herzberg.