Cash is not the only or best way to provide incentives for your employees.
The first thing we always think of to reward employees for superior performance is cash, either a raise, or a bonus. As we all know cash is king…or is it?
In the proper setting, while cash is important and cannot be completely ignored, it has been studied and determined that cash is 5th on the list of importance to the employee groups studied.. Such non tangibles as recognition, quality of living and working, respect, career path, and many other non cash benefits and rewards are frequently more important and successful in motivating high performance than cash.
Thus lets take a hard look at some ways to support your employees, create a happy, comfortable, loyal, labor force that works hard and produces above expectations performance.
Career path, cross training, advancement, long term goals, responsibility, authority all play a huge roll in developing job satisfaction, rewarding quality performance and maintaining an excellent work force. These techniques provide a sense of development, growth and expansion and opportunity for the employee as well as long term direction and goals to achieve over time.
Gift giving is another excellent way to reward quality performance, be it small or large, its the recognition of a job well done that employees frequently appreciate more then money.
However the ultimate gift is free of charge, takes little to deliver, and can be delivered in many different ways by many different people in your organization, its simple and it works incredibly well, its called appreciation, communicated in an earnest, believable manor, sometimes privately, sometimes publicly, but always directly, clearly and specifically for a job well done. Done with honesty and sincerity, it is more powerful then cash or gifts. People want to be appreciated, honored for superior work, and thanked for an above average performance. This works best of all.
Recognition, appreciation and a thank you for a job well done is the top motivator for exceptional employee performance. Its how you deliver this message that has so many variations, however if the underlying message is candid appreciation and thankfulness for a job well done, then you will have accomplished the most desirable and allusive goal of all, motivating and inspiring your workforce.
What works best as a factor is the thoughtful, personal kind of recognition that signifies true appreciation for a job well done…(Bob Nelson, 1001 Ways To Reward Employees.) The motivation is all the stronger if the form of recognition creates a story that employees can tell their family, friends and co-workers for years to come. (Nelson..ibid).
Their are formal ways to deliver this program and their are informal ways. Formal ways are more about specific programs, defined measuring opportunities with time periods and known established rewards.
Normal rewards are more spontaneous, immediately associated with specific employee actions, and very powerful indeed.
Aubrey Daniels a leading authority on the subject says it best…”You reinforce behaviors and reward results”. The guidelines are simple:
1.Match the reward to the person, It may be a fishing rod for an avid fishing enthusiast or a dinner at a local restaurant for another person, knowing what each employee would like is half the battle and then rewarding them for specific performance with a reward that is personal and exceptional to them is the ace. This may take some understanding of your employees but it is worth the effort to both discover the best gift possible for the person and key it to the persons success.
2.Match the reward to the service. If its a huge task that took a year to complete the gift should be commensurate with the effort, if its a one day performance that was brilliant but still one day in duration it should be less noteworthy . The reward should be a function of the time required to produce the results and the significance of the effort.
3. Be timely and specific. The reward should be given as soon as possible to the effort being rewarded and the reward should be specific to the event. Always explain why you are giving a reward, be specific so there is always a context to the reward event.
Formal programs should be of short duration and there should be variety, different objectives for different rewards. Additionally, make the rewards as public as possible, using an an announcement in the local newspapers, or an add congratulating the recipient, or a news release discussing the program and results. Make it public its worth allot.
While cash may frequently be king, and is very important and cannot be overlooked or ignored as a quality motivator, peoples need for appreciation and to be thanked tends to be far more effective in stimulating the desired response, motivation to do a superior job. Call if you need help 413-549-2966.
