Non-monetary levers to enhance employee engagement in organizations – “GREAT” model of motivation during the Covid-19 crisis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify non-monetary variables that can be leveraged by HR practitioners to enhance employee motivation and engagement in their companies. Covid-19 has plunged the corporate world into a severe crisis. Companies are struggling to conserve cash. HR managers who had used monetary levers such as salaries to motivate their staff have to now use non-monetary levers such as appreciation and career growth to keep the morale high. Design/methodology/approach The authors have undertaken extensive literature review to identify the non-monetary variables that enhances employee motivation. Exploratory survey to validate the relevance of these variables was conducted. Operational definition of the variables is provided apart from logically grouping them into a framework that can be leveraged by HR practitioners. Findings In total, 20 variables were grouped into a framework of five levers called “GREAT” that expands to growth, renewal, enabling, aspirational and transparency levers. All these levers on their own and used in conjunction with other levers have shown to increase employee morale and motivation. The GREAT framework gives an additional lens for HR practitioners to evaluate their employee engagement programs using non-monetary variables. Originality/value This paper provides insights into this important concept of employee engagement during a crisis situation of unprecedented proportion. While employee morale is the first casualty in a crisis, it (the motivation) should be the last one to lose in a battle of this magnitude. HR managers now have a strategic framework (“GREAT”) to use to evaluate their interventions to enhance the teams’ morale.