DON'T! |
DO! |
Minimize the value of an effective reward and recognition system or the damage of an ineffective one. |
Create recognition practices your employees love. (Research shows that the more satisfied employees are with the organization's recognition practices the more productive they are, the less likely they are to leave, and the more likely they are to promote the organization to perspective employees.) |
Treat everyone the same. One size does not fit all when it comes to employee recognition. (For example, one person may enjoy public recognition while another would be embarrassed by it.) |
Take the time to really get to know your employees. Find out what motivates each one. Respect people's differences. |
Water down criteria for awards. |
Align rewards and recognition to your organization's critical business goals. Only reward what will make your organization ultimately successful. Tie recognition to measurable performance. |
Save up and hoard your praise for a rainy day. Your employee may have forgotten what they did to earn your favor. |
Praise immediately following the positive action. This is where you get the best return. (Spot awards work great!) |
Limit your options by thinking you have to have a bank full of money to keep motivation alive. |
Listen. Listen? That's it?? Small things like this that can work wonders. |
Make it sooo hard to earn recognition that your employees lose interest. |
Make sure your employees feel the recognition they receive is worthy of their effort. |
Allow your reward and recognition system to get mired down in bureaucratic processes, multiple required signatures and complicated award criteria. |
Keep it simple; make it as easy as possible to recognize someone for his or her excellent performance and behavior. |
Make the mistake of thinking high performers don't need recognition. |
Catch your superstars in the act! It's human nature to want others to notice our accomplishments. |
Go overboard and recognize excessively. Otherwise you could put yourself at risk of promoting an entitlement rather than a performance culture. |
Reward the right behavior at the right time in an appropriate manner. Make recognition something special - something people have to genuinely earn. |
Rely on the tried-and-true, ho-hum coffee mug as the gift of choice. |
Think creatively. There are lots of fun, low-cost/no-cost ways to show your appreciation. |
Expect your employees to stay motivated if they feel unappreciated. |
Employees are more motivated when they hear from you and others that they are making a difference. |
Just offer a lethargic "thank you," or "good job." Put some meat behind your applause. |
Let employees know in specific terms not only what they did well but how their efforts created positive outcomes. Talk about both their actions and their results. |
Go around thinking you can read minds. |
In a recent survey by Maritz Corporation, managers thought money was the central motivator while their employees said recognition was. (www.maritz.com) |
Be a miser when it comes to choice of awards. |
Choice is a good thing. In this case, the more the better. (How about a company Goodie Closet where employees get to select the gift they want? Bingo!) |
Forget the power of compensation. |
According to the Business Research Lab (http://www.busreslab.com): "If there is a lack of a strong pay/performance relationship in your organization, a non-monetary recognition program will be of limited value." |
Play favorites. |
Fairly recognize people based on objective criteria. |
Forget to add an element of surprise to your recognition strategies. |
Think of spontaneous and creative ways to show your appreciation (like clipping a gift certificate to the draft report your employee has asked you to review, or taping a simple post-it note on their computer when they're out of the office, or leaving a special thank-you message on their voicemail on Thanksgiving morning, or???) Go for it! |
Pass up "Lifestyle" benefits. |
Pay attention to those rewards that will make life easier for your employees, particularly for busy two-income households. Consider:
- free shots for the kids
- personal shoppers
- flextime
- an unused office (spa) where employees could relax, read their favorite newspaper, listen to quiet music, decompress
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Make snap judgments when you are shopping around for employee recognition vendors. |
Take time to research the best-in-class employee recognition vendors. Try this site: http://beginnersguide.com/assessment/employee-recognition |
Think for one minute that once you've rolled out an employee reward and recognition program that it's a done deal. It's not that simple. |
Market! Market! Market! Keep it fresh in everyone's mind. Otherwise, it will be out there but ain't nobody using it. |
Get lazy and forget to check on how thing's are going. |
Ask folks what's working, what's not working. Then change the things you can; keep/enhance the recognition practices that work. |
Take the easy road and reward everybody. (Spending 80% of your time on 10% of your poor performers means you're rewarding the wrong folks!) |
Differentiate! Spend 80% of your time on your top performers. (Pay attention where it counts. Time costs money and as we all know, what gets rewarded gets done.) |
Sink into dismal depression when you realize you can't motivate the entire world. |
Put a ton of effort into creating a motivational climate where your employees have clear expectations, have the resources they need to do the job, receive feedback and coaching, are encouraged to share their ideas and participate in decision-making, feel comfortable taking risks, have the opportunity to grow, and — most importantly — trust you and believe in the organization. Then, it's up to them. |
GOOD |
LUCK! |
