Beyond Secret Santas and Stocking Stuffers: Reward and Recognize to Energize Employees

Have you ever had the experience of excitedly opening a gift for the holidays thinking it was so special, then your big sister and kid brother opened up their presents to reveal the exact same thing? Somehow it was a letdown and you didn't feel so special any more. IT was more like there was a sale at Toys 'R' Us and your grandparents bought in bulk since they really didn't know exactly what you wanted.

Fast forward 30 years and things haven't changed all that much in the workplace. Whether it's holiday gift-giving, the annual performance appraisal, or the conclusion of a team project; the gift or incentive loses it's power and motivational affect when it is given en mass. We all want to feel special and feel as if what we do matters. We also want others to notice what we've done and recognize us as individuals for out accomplishments.

Rewards, recognition, praise and gift-giving must be customized to the individual and the effort, and represent a genuine concern and gratitude for the outcome or the person. Although this is an ideal time of year to be grateful for good workers and show appreciation for your associates during Thanksgiving, Kwanza, Christmas, and Chanukah; the conviction to customize your reward system must be sustained throughout the year.

Anymore, the one-shot bonus at the annual review will not be enough to enhance productivity, particularly with the generation X and Y workforce. This MTV generation of workers is used to gaining feedback on their computer games every 60 seconds. They need immediate and continuous feedback and incentives to know how they're doing and to keep their interest.

Here are some guidelines for managers to recognize and energize their enterprise during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Verbal Praise

• Be specific and address the individual with what they did and how it was effective so they know what you noticed and will continue to succeed in that area.
• Be genuine and sincere - the effect of verbal praise is watered down when given to a large group as a general statement. "You all did a great job on the project", holds no value to individuals and raises the point that the manager never really knew who did what. The same goes for certificates or bonuses just dropped into "in" boxes and not delivered with pomp and circumstance.
• What gets rewarded, gets repeated. It is much more effective to change inappropriate behavior through positive reinforcement than through discipline. Find something they're doing well and praise it.
• Say what they're doing well and say it often and in person. Email, notes, and memos through supervisors are great as long as they are balanced with a personal touch and said at least 4 times more often than the disciplinary stuff.

Incentives and Rewards

• Making a big deal out of the little things makes the little things a big deal. Catch people doing things right and show them it makes a difference by using "Pocket Praises" - award cards with such sayings as "your service left me breathless...I never inhaled!", or "Forget sheep, let's clone you!". Other award cards include "a free car wash by the boss" or "a lunch served at your desk" or "Take an hour off work today".
• Customize for colleagues - ask them what they would prefer as a reward or an incentive. WE cannot motivate others - it comes from the word motive and we all have out own motives. We don't know unless we ask. Give out a menu of wishlists (see below) which colleagues can fill-in or circle the suggestions listed. Have a brainstorming session to come up with some off-the-wall incentives. Productivity and enthusiasm soar when people have ownership in the outcomes.
• Go surfing for solutions on the Internet. There are new websites weekly which offer timely rewards as instant gratification. Timeliness is a key factor in the effectiveness of a reward. Studies show that cold cash loses it's incentive punch faster than something else the worker values. Some websites have access to hundreds of venues on which the worker can use their gift certificate such as www.800giftcertificate.com or a site such as www.recognition.com. Stay tuned for next month's article for a full coverage of incentive websites.

Share Ideas
Share ideas with other professionals involved in raising morale by joining the National Association for Employee Recognition or participating in a bulletin board/chat room for those involved in employee morale committees - there's one listed at www.funciliators.com.

So go ahead and have your Halloween parties, birthday bashes, secret Santas, and holiday hoopla's; just ensure that you are treating everybody as the special individuals they are. If your organization is to large.... delegate down to a level who should know more about the personal things of their colleagues or host a scavenger hunt or people bingo to find out more about everybody. Forget the form-letter birthday memo and go out on a limb and send a hand-written card or bring them a balloon. When appreciation comes from the heart and continues your 'round, it can be much more of an incentive and can create an energizing environment for everybody.

WISH LIST
Hand this wish list out to workers to get their feedback on what they really want as rewards and incentives. Skew your monetary categories according to your budget.

Wish list for a job well done
We know every individual has different desires and dreams and we wouldn't hazard a guess to what you would like to receive as you reach your goals. In order to customize your incentives and rewards to make it more meaningful and personal to you, we want to know your top preferences in each of the categories below:

• Under $50 - dinner coupons, grocery coupons, phone cards, gasoline cards, other _____________________________________
• $51-$100 -theme park passes, theater/arts tickets, massages, gourmet dinners, other _____________________________________
• $101-200 - house cleaning, day spa visit, magazine subscriptions, fresh flowers weekly for a month, _______________________________
• $201-400 - catered party, champagne balloon ride, retail gift certificates
  _____________________________________
• $401-700 - association membership, ski weekend, 1 year tennis club membership
  _____________________________________
• $701-1000 - weekend in the islands, Caribbean cruse, limb/dinner/symphony/boxing/ball game evening
  _____________________________________
• $1001 - 2000- box seats at the ball park, golf club membership, health club membership for the year
• Above and beyond - walks on water wishes:
  lease a Porsche 911 for the year
  beach house lease for the summer
  adventure vacation in Europe, Africa, or Asia
  trip to a spa retreat
  other_________________________________

Back to Resources