It's no secret that salary is perhaps the main factor in staff motivation. However, for this factor to contribute to employee effectiveness, it must be properly used.
It should be reminded that the salary means the pay for the auditor’s work, which does not depend directly on his/her performance. As long as the quality of the employee's work is sufficient to prevent him/her from being fired, he/she will receive a fixed wage. A payroll-motivated employee does his or her job because it enables him/her to maintain the position in the company and therefore the salary.
The performance of an auditor in a position, as a rule, still influences how quickly his/her salary increases. However, first of all, it is not a short-term perspective, and secondly, it is not always clear and understandable to the auditor. Therefore, salary is not a classic option of external remuneration, which, for example, is a bonus that depends directly on the results of work for a specific period of time.
At the same time, the level of salaries, oddly enough, can have a significant effect on the employee's internal motivation. When salary is a major part of remuneration (as is usually the case with auditors), the employees are more confident, unlike in those professions where commissions are a large part of the remuneration. Accordingly, feeling of confidence and stability have a positive effect on self-motivation.
The high salary, which usually reflects the auditor's previous performance as well as his or her level of education and skills, signals to the employee that the company highly values him/her. This is confirmed by numerous studies. As a result, auditors are more committed to their organization.
However, in some cases, the salary is perceived by staff as a controlling factor, because in fact it is a reward for doing the job properly, not for high results. In addition, when remuneration is guaranteed before performing a particular job (as in the case of salary), it is perceived as controlling. This is an undesirable situation for the employer, as this perception of the salary by auditor may have a negative impact on his or her internal motivation.
When salary is perceived as a factor of employee motivation, it is important to remember that the key in this case is the auditor's perception of the controlling and informative aspect of the salary. If the auditor understands that the salary reflects his/her value to the organization, the employee will respond with increased internal motivation. If, on the contrary, the auditor considers that the level of salary is determined solely by his position regardless of individual competences, he/she will consider such remuneration a controlling factor and correspond to a decrease in internal motivation.
Therefore, the management of audit firms should apply differentiated approach to the setting of auditor’s salary. The level of education, skills and work efficiency of the employee should be taken into account as much as possible. In addition, it is equally important to bring to the attention of the auditors the principles of salary setting and to explain that the individual competence and effort they make in their work today directly affects the amount of their salary rate tomorrow. This approach will increase the external as well as the internal motivation of the employees, and the company will get maximum employee’s efficiency and loyalty.