A study about the use of reward systems and employee motivation in a call centre

Abstract: Background The purpose of using reward systems is to motivate and encourage actions needed for goal achievement, thereby increasing the results of an organization. Often, the use of reward systems is a crucial part of the organizations management control system. Problem What is conceived as a reward may differ and it can therefore be problematic for an organization to meet everyone's needs in order to reach the desirable results. Aim The purpose of this thesis is to get insight in how, why and what reward systems that are used in Company X, how they motivate the employees and to find suggestion on how the organization could maximize the use of reward systems. Limitations Due to the limited scope of this thesis we have chosen to narrow our focus down to only focusing on Company X. And another limitation is that potential rewards given to employees at a managerial level will be excluded. Method In the thesis both qualitative and quantitative methods is used, by carrying out five interviews and also handing out fifty surveys - this is the preliminary data. Different theories on motivation and data from various studies regarding reward systems are gathered - this is the secondary data used in this thesis. Analysis & The empirical data are placed against the theoretical framework, where a conclusion discussion on both differences and similarities is made. Part of our conclusion is that rewards do motivate employees, especially when using financial rewards. There is also a discussion about potential areas where Company X can improve.