Motivating Success: Analyzing Facebook's Reward System Through Herzberg's Two-Factor and Self-Determination Theories

This research is credited to Ahmad Fuad Al Hattab

​Introduction
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Considerable business is striving to have motivational workplace environment which will positively influence the company and the employees. Therefore, it is essential that a firm develop its own rewarding system, since it will have a great impact on motivating employees. Conclusively, it will make an employee more inspired, energetic and willing to work diligently. Moreover, rewarding could diminish the turnover of an organization.

Thus, this is going to help the organization to retain its staff, especially professional individuals. Nowadays, enormous businesses are looking for an effective and successful reward strategy to adopt. Indeed, many businesses have fallen apart due to the fact that they do not have a powerful reward system.

One of the successful examples of a firm that has got an effective reward approach is Facebook. It is a well-known company that has worldwide presence. So, this report is going to describe the reward strategy that Facebook adopts. It will critically evaluate the reward system in Facebook. Moreover, it will determine the rewards that Facebook grants its employees.

Then, it will talk about the message that Facebook wants to convey to its employees. Next, it will focus on how the reward approach that Facebook adopts affects the performance of its employees. Finally, it will give suggestions which could help Facebook improve its reward system.
 
 Facebook in brief

Facebook is one of the most famous and biggest companies in this world. It ranked number one as the best workplace on Glassdoor in 2018. Every year Glassdoor ranks best workplaces in accordance to staff’ reviews. These reviews focus on certain areas, such as to what extent staff are satisfied with their employers, CEOs.

An employee also expresses his opinion about other aspects of the company that he works at. An employee also brings up the negative side of his experience during his period of employment. There are many reasons why Facebook ranks the best workplace to work at. Some of the reasons are the compensation and perks that the company provides (Business Insider, 2017).
 
The reward system in Facebook

There are considerable perks that Facebook offers to its employees. Indeed, these perks are considered a factor that motivates employees to do their work in an effective way. Some of the perks include:

1. A wellness allowance to finance gym membership.
2. 21 days of paid vacation for full-time employees.
3. Free meals and snacks throughout the day.
4. Access to an on-site barber shop in the Menlo Park office.
5. On-site health and dental care. (Business Insider, 2017).
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Conclusively, perks are not the only thing that Facebook provides; Facebook also provides competitive compensation. Some employees are not necessarily driven by money; however, certainly it is going to help. Facebook knows that higher salaries are going to increase contentment. Furthermore, employees are motivated by being surrounded with innovative and clever colleagues.

Moreover, there are many chances to grow and develop on Facebook. In addition, staff feel valued on Facebook since there is constant communication between employees and senior leadership. The CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, hosts a questions and answers session every week to discuss any concerns with employees. The CEO discusses topics, such as services that will be released soon.

Hence, there is trust between senior leadership and employees. This is Facebook culture, so Zuckerberg is trying to maintain transparency (Business Insider, 2017). Accordingly, these are the approaches that Facebook adopts to reward its employees. In essence, Facebook uses a variety of effective methods, such as perks, compensation, instant interaction between employees and management, and provides growth opportunities. 
 
What is the message that Facebook wants to deliver to its employees?

This reward system that Facebook adopts means a lot. Basically, it means that Facebook takes care of its employees and does not see them as a cost. However, it sees them as an asset. Facebook tries to tell its employees that they are valuable, and their voice is heard. Moreover, it always tries to develop and improve them by offering them training courses.

Subsequently, this denotes that Facebook wants to invest in its staff. Hence, it is keen on retaining them. Therefore, Facebook knows exactly that it has many skilled and expert employees and eventually does not want to lose them. The giant company recognizes the importance of applying a soft human resource approach. It recognizes its remarkable and outstanding impact on both the company and its employees.

Indeed, if a company applies a soft human resource, chances are: employees are going to be more loyal to the company, and this is what many companies really want. They want to retain their employees, especially those who are hardworking employees as well as those who have long work experience.

Facebook also wants to keep and maintain a motivated, driven, and inspired environment in the company; that is why it provides many tempting compensations and perks. These compensations and perks play a critical role when it comes to motivating employees to work hard. An employee will likely be more tolerant in terms of work pressure. At the end of the day, he knows for sure that his hard work will pay off.
 
How does the reward system on Facebook drive employee performance?

In 1959, Herzberg developed a motivation theory, which consists of two factors; the first factor is the hygiene factor. These factors are not motivators; however, these factors should exist. Otherwise, employees will be dissatisfied with their jobs. Hygiene factors include firm supervision, policy, salary, work environment, etc. (Gawel, 1997). 

The second factor is motivational factors, which are also called satisfiers and include giving employees responsibility, they must have a sense of achievement; a firm should recognize and praise their accomplishments; and the firm should also offer its employees promotions as well as an opportunity to grow and develop in the company (Juneja, n.d.).

 Accordingly, this is exactly what Facebook is doing. First, it has established the hygiene factors, then, it established the motivators. Hence, these motivational factors drive an employee performance in Facebook.

Suggestions that may improve Facebook reward approach

It would be great if all staff take part in developing the reward strategy, (Geraghty, 2017). Undoubtedly, what motivates an employee does not necessarily motivate another employee (Haivas, Hofmans and Pepermans, 2012). Employees are different in terms of what motivates them. Hence, when employees are involved in developing the reward approach, this will guarantee that employees perceive rewards as worth their hard work (Geraghty, 2017).

Furthermore, I recommend rewarding an employee through verbal feedback. Indeed, psychologists are eager to know the positive results of non-monetary motivations, such as verbal feedback (Kvaløy, Nieken and Schöttner, 2013). Positive feedback encourages employees as well as boosts engagement with the management.

As a result, an employee will be more willing to interact effectively with the management, not to mention that positive verbal feedback will ultimately increase the performance of most employees. Moreover, “positive feedback increases people’s confidence that they are able to pursue their goals” (Fishbach, Eyal and Finkelstein, 2010). Accordingly, giving an employee constructive feedback as a recognition is highly recommended because of the tremendous impact on employees (Dontigney, n.d.).  
 
Conclusion

In conclusion, an organization will harvest considerable benefits from applying a reward system. There are a lot of appealing benefits to establishing a reward approach in a firm. Therefore, all employees appreciate being rewarded since they spend their time working hard and dedicate much of their time to get the work done.

Indeed, a reward means that the company acknowledges the hard work of an employee. There are many successful examples of companies that have effective reward strategies, and one of these companies is Facebook. In fact, Facebook has made a great effort in rewarding its employees. It is trying to retain its professional workers and decrease turnover through its reward strategy.

It is considered a good example. Hence, companies should follow its approach, which has turned out to be a successful and effective reward approach. However, it is advisable to involve all employees in developing the reward system. It is also advisable to consider positive verbal feedback since it has many advantages. Besides, it is going to boost employee performance.

Consequently, if a company wants to motivate its staff, it must first make sure that hygiene factors do exist. It should establish hygiene factors so that it eradicates any demotivators in the workplace. This way, it can be a healthier workplace environment. After that, it should establish the motivational factors, which are very significant to motivate staff. 
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References

Business Insider (2017). 7 reasons Facebook is the best place to work in America and no other company can compare.
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Business Insider (2017). 11 Insanely Cool Benefits for Facebook Employees. 
 
Fishbach, A., Eyal, T., and Finkelstein, S. (2010). How Positive and Negative Feedback Motivate Goal Pursuit.
 
Gawel, J. (1997). Herzberg's theory of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
 
Geraghty, S. (2017). 20 Ways to Increase Employee Motivation Using Rewards.
 
Haivas, S., Hofmans, J., and Pepermans, R. (2012). “What Motivates You Doesn’t Motivate Me”: Individual Differences in the Needs Satisfaction-Motivation Relationship of Romanian Volunteers.
 
Juneja, P. (n.d.). Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory of Motivation. [online] Managementstudyguide.com.
 
Kvaløy, O., Nieken, P., and Schöttner, A. (2013). Hidden Benefits of Reward: A Field Experiment on Motivation and Monetary Incentives.