Does a month ever go by that you don’t deal with at least one difficult personnel issue? Let’s face it. We all want the same thing — employees that treat the company as if it were their own, who handle our customers with dignity and respect while keeping a careful eye on costs and the bottom-line. But that’s not always the performance level we get.
We want efficient employees, but also ones who are willing to work long hours when that’s what it takes to get a job done. We want devoted, honest, productive people that are eager to learn, able to think on their feet and able to solve problems.
So, what can we do to motivate every employee to this kind of peak performance? Plenty! Surprisingly enough, the best incentive for peak performance may not be money. While money is important to employees, numerous studies have shown that what actually motivates employees to perform — and to perform at higher levels — is thoughtful, personal recognition for a job well done.
In an excellent book by Bob Nelson (part of the Ken Blanchard “One Minute Manager” group) titled “1001 Ways to Reward Employees,” the author sites simple guidelines to use when setting up incentives:
1. Match the reward to the person. Everyone has preferences in how they like to be rewarded. They may like public or private recognition, formal or informal programs, gifts or activities. If you don’t know how someone likes to be rewarded, ask. To help them, try making a list of potential rewards and let each employee check off what would strike their fancy.
2. Match the reward to the achievement. If an employee spends two years completing a project that will create a significant impact on the bottom-line, they should be rewarded in a much more substantial way than an employee who simply does you a small favor.
3. Be timely and specific. To be effective, rewards need to be given as soon after the desired behavior as possible. Rewards that come weeks or months later do little to motivate employees to repeat their actions. You should always say and stress why the reward is being given.
If you think you need a spiffy, complicated program to encourage peak performance, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that informal, spontaneous rewards with little or no planning are extremely effective. From a university-level study, the top five motivating techniques are:
1. Manager personally congratulates an employee who does a good job.
2. Manager writes a personal note to employee about good performance.
3. The organization uses performance as the basis for promotion.
4. The manager publicly recognizes an employee for good performance.
5. The manager holds morale-building meetings to celebrate success.
To reward your peak performers consider these ideas:
Post-it notes with handwritten thanks (you might even hide several around their work area).
Have employee’s car washed.
Answer their telephone for a day.
Post a thank-you banner with employee’s name where all can see it.
Name sites, buildings, or equipment after special employees.
Give a company cup filled with sweets.
Post a Hall of Fame Plaque with pictures of employees who have done exceptional deeds.
Give a day off with pay.
Dinner certificates.
Flowers.
Allow casual clothes for a day.
A gift for the employee’s spouse or child.
A gift related to their favorite hobby (i.e. round of golf).
Certificate to attend a conference or training.
Massage or manicure certificate.
Upgrade their office.
An article about their good deed in company newsletter.
A billboard congratulations sign close to employee’s work location.
New job title.
Company apparel.
Trophies/plaques.
A pizza party lunch.
Free fuel.
Most managers are busy searching for the negatives and therefore miss positive employee actions. To gain peak performance from employees, you must switch your focus to catching them doing something right and then reward that behavior.
It is vitally important that every employee understand the culture and vision of your company to know what the “right” thing is. If your company is large enough that the President or CEO has little direct contact with employees, consider rewarding top performers with lunch with the President. That’s a great time to reinforce corporate values while getting feedback from the line level, all the while making the employee feel wonderful about their accomplishment.
If you want a formal program to reward productivity, you must establish clear, quantitative measures of productivity
Formal programs lend themselves better to cash rewards since there are clear criteria for when cash is awarded. If you decide to use cash as an award (which is always easiest), remember that cash has no lasting value (like a gift) and may tend to become an expected reward.
Just a few more rules of thumb to make your incentive programs effective:
• Each program should reflect your company’s values and business strategy.
• Employees should participate in the development and execution of the programs.
• Since what is meaningful to you may not be meaningful to someone else, the programs should encompass variety.
• The programs should be highly public.
• The programs should have a short life span (change frequently).
When designing your programs, give careful thought to team awards versus individual awards. If a team was responsible for a result, all team members must be rewarded. Rewarding only the manager is very de-motivating and rewards must always be fair to be effective. A blend of individual and team incentives works best.
When it comes to incentives, be forewarned that you will get exactly what you are rewarding. If you find your program creates unforeseen problems, don’t be afraid to stop and try again. Very few companies hit home runs the first time out and very few can hit a home run every time at bat. What we do know, however, is that employees who feel appreciated are much more likely to give peak performances!
