Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [26]
Look Inside Yourself
In the final analysis, nonmaterial recognition and rewards can be among the most powerful employee motivators. However, they will not be nearly as effective if the manager who bestows them is not respected by the employee.
To gain that respect, you must make a sincere effort to listen to employees, to believe that their opinions have value, to advocate for them and—yes—even to admit when you are wrong. This requires that you stop for a moment, look inside, and manage as much with your heart as your head.
Caring and compassionate managers who understand their employees’ needs also understand what motivates and de-motivates each one. These managers intuitively realize the power of a kind word. They know that it takes more than money alone to keep employees satisfied.
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“The individual who does not embody his messages will eventually be found out, even as the inarticulate individual who leads the exemplary life may eventually come to be appreciated.”
—Howard Gardner, author of Leading Minds
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CASE FILE
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NON-CASH MOTIVATIONAL REWARDS
According to a Northwestern University study of 235 managers, “Non-cash programs are more effective in achieving eight out of 10 corporate goals.” That’s why in 2005, Kelly Services, a Fortune 500 company specializing in staffing solutions such as temporary office help, introduced “Kelly Kudos,” an incentive program that uses non-cash awards based on points to help increase productivity and retention. With Kelly Kudos, the company’s 480,000 U.S. employees can accumulate award points over time to earn various kinds of merchandise. The company has found that employees who earn points in this program are generating three times more revenue than employees who do not participate in the program.
SOURCE: “Recognition That Resonates” by Charlotte Huff, Workforce Management (September 11, 2006).
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USING MATERIAL REWARDS
Simply put, people work for pay, and while pay is not the only motivator, it is a significant one for most workers.
An increase in pay is the most basic form of material reward. In American business, it has become standard practice to increase pay annually. Typically, the only other time an individual’s salary increases is when a raise accompanies a promotion. As a result, a pay raise is regarded as an entitlement, not as a reward.
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“Regular reinforcement loses impact because it comes to be expected. Thus, unpredictable and intermittent reinforcements work better.”
—Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
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Benefits provided by the company to the employee are also viewed as entitlements, which is unfortunate. A few years ago, there was a hue and cry among Microsoft employees when, in a cost-cutting effort, a favorite perk was eliminated—the clean towels that had been provided to employees who ran or bicycled to work or who exercised during the day. Employees at Boeing, also in Seattle, pooh-poohed the outcry, saying that they couldn’t believe the lavishness of the package even without the towels. As their comments underscore, some companies’ benefits are far superior to others, and this can and should be a legitimate motivator for an employee to join and stay with a company. Microsoft’s newest employee initiative, MyMicrosoft, restores the towels and at the same time adds laundry and dry cleaning, grocery delivery from Safeway, on-premises convenience stores, Wolfgang Puck food to go, and discounts on housekeeping, yard care, auto repair, pet care, and other nonworkplace services.
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Dos & Don’ts
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TIPS ON MATERIAL REWARDS
Material rewards are significant for their quality as well as for the recognition they imply.
Do review your pay structure to ensure that it is competitive within your industry and geographic area.
Don’t implement a material rewards system without making a long-term commitment to it.
Do add desirable benefits to your benefits package as the company grows and prospers.
Do make sure the value of the material reward is