I work for a medium-sized recruitment firm as a manager of the technical jobs section. The firm has a pay system in which all employees receive the same pay increase annually. I believe this is demoralising and hits the motivation and commitment of my best employees hardest - I think some are wondering ‘what’s in this for me?’ A transparent system based on merit is, I believe, a better proposition. But senior management do not seem to agree. What is your opinion?
DB, Dubai
Being fairly remunerated and compensated is one of the elements in keeping employees motivated. A clear compensation and benefits policy driven by Human Resource Management helps give benefits to employees based on their performance, potentially bringing out the best in what employees have to offer the organisation. The annual pay increase system is just one component of the overall compensation and benefit approach of a company.
To add a different perspective, take some of the research and literature around remuneration and employee motivation into account and you’ll notice that salary alone is not always the instrumental driver in staff motivation and performance. Clinical psychologist Frederick Herzberg did research more than half a century ago, which showed that employees are motivated to work harder through less tangible, intrinsic motivators such as more responsibility, achievement, advancement and development. Extrinsic motivators, such as salary and benefits may lead to dissatisfaction when they are not present, but they are unlikely to keep employees motivated in the long run.
Daniel Pink, author and motivation expert, claims that science knows that incentives don’t work in terms of motivating employees, and that businesses need to catch up to this. He promotes an approach that relies on giving employees three key things: autonomy over their work, a feeling that they can achieve mastery and a larger sense of purpose.
The reputation of the company, the job profile itself, the overall package of salary, benefits and incentives are part of what attract people to work for a specific organisation. However, people also look at the culture, meaning and purpose of the organisation, the nature of leadership, the work environment and their ability to contribute and feel valued.
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So, keeping this in mind, let’s revert back to the situation you are describing. Companies have different processes and policies in place with regards to pay increases. Factors that may influence how companies approach pay increases include the success of the company overall, starting salaries, market benchmarking, employee performance and achievement of goals. For example, the Dubai Government Human Resources Management Law no (27) 2006 states that "annual salary increments shall be based on the employee’s performance as measured by the performance management system and not on the basis of seniority. To be entitled to this increment, an employee must receive a rating not less than Good".
It’s not unusual for organisations to apply an across the board salary increase percentage to align remuneration with cost of living inflation, and in strong business development based environments, to additionally offer incentive schemes to recognise individual performances. That being said, in more complex environments where collaboration across a team or a reliance on interdepartmental cooperation is necessary and important for new client acquisition or retaining existing clients, there is also a business case for more collective based team incentives, as individual incentives in these situations can sometimes drive the wrong behavioural patterns.
It seems that your firm's culture is rooted in an across the board increase system, which realistically may not be within your scope to address. However, it would be good to have a better understanding of your firm’s approach to performance review and management.
Doctor’s prescription:
Consider what you are able to influence to better recognise and motivate your best employees. It may require these employees to take on more responsibilities to enable a further increase in salary. Likewise, there may be bonus schemes or benefits available to acknowledge the achievements and hard work of these employees. To meet your employees needs on a more intrinsic level, provide additional variety and a wider range of more complex or challenging tasks to make work more interesting. Furthermore, empower them to make more autonomous decisions around their own work. Your personal leadership effectiveness with your team will have a greater impact on their overall motivation than being able to negotiate variable or individual salary increases.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
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Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
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Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
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Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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Our legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
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Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
