Tools for Setting Up the Personnel Labor Motivation System: A Review of Research by Russian Scientists and Practitioners

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of modern theoretical and practical approaches to the systems of motivation and stimulation of the work of the personnel. The main focus is on the works of Russian researchers within the last decade. The relevance of this study is due to the lack of such reviews in scientific sources, as well as the possible comparison of the achievements of theory and practice in order to create an effective system of staff labor motivation. The purpose of this study is to analyze modern approaches in theory and practice to the content of labor motivation and incentive systems, the mechanism of labor motivation and the selection of the most effective “tools for tuning” the system of labor motivation and incentives. The research methods used in this study include analysis, systematization and generalization of the published approaches of researchers and practitioners, including copyright research, for the period from 2012 to 2020, presented in academic journals and monographic sources. The results of the study were systematized by the authors in three areas of analysis: models and systems of motivation and incentives for personnel and the composition of their elements; approaches to studying mechanisms of motivation and stimulation of labor, guiding the labor behavior of employees; experience of a differentiated approach to managing labor motivation. Systematization and generalization of the approaches made it possible to single out the “tuning tools” of the system of motivation and stimulation of labor and to define the concept. Moreover, it helped to compile the list of such tools, including: monitoring the need-motivational sphere and job satisfaction, studying the dynamics of the employee’s motivational profiles for making and changing management decisions; application of a flexible incentive system, taking into account the differentiation of incentives by gender, age, length of service, job positions of personnel in the company; providing an employee with a choice of a compensation package from the enterprise’s cafeteria. These customization tools guide managers towards a targeted approach to personnel, combining the efforts of management at different levels to align labor motivation with the strategic goals of the company. The authors argue that a timely use and alternation of the tools for setting up and tuning the labor motivation system, focusing on the urgent needs of personnel, allows to change the company’s motivational strategy creating sustainable competitive advantages which are necessary in modern economic realities.