Abstract:
It has been shown that high performance employees make a significant and
positive contribution towards companies becoming high performance
organisations as well as towards their future sustainability. However, while the
literature shows that there is a plethora of factors perceived to drive employee
performance, the studies reviewed offered very little clarity on the extent to
which these enabling or inhibiting factors influence the performance of
semi-skilled employees. The primary objective of this research study was to
empirically determine the factors that semi-skilled employees, perceive to
enable and inhibit their performance and secondly to compare these findings
with the views held by the managers of these semi-skilled employees.
Data was collected from participants using the nominal group technique, from
6 focus group discussions, comprising of 38 semi-skilled employees and
16 managers of semi-skilled employees, in a single organisation but across two
business units, which are situated in different geographies.
The primary results of the study identified the enablers of semi-skilled employee
performance to be that of fair pay followed by recognition & appreciation,
teamwork, training & development and good leadership. The inhibitors of
semi-skilled employee performance were identified to be inequality & unfairness
followed by working under pressure, low pay, poor leadership and lack of
communication. There were some clear differences of opinion between the
semi-skilled employees and their managers which have important ramifications.
The study produces a force field model that managers can use as a guideline,
towards improving semi-skilled employee performance.
This study offers clear insights into the factors impacting on semi-skilled
employee performance, which are poorly represented in existing literature.
