Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [27]
Do make sure any material reward is based on an outcome that an employee can achieve and control.
Do consider alternatives to cash as material rewards.
Don’t rely solely on stock in a material rewards program.
Don’t assume cash or other material rewards will solve underlying issues that may be causing motivation to fall.
Don’t institute team rewards programs that create divisiveness or break down the cooperative spirit of a team.
Don’t make material rewards too selective and restricted.
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The best way a company can turn benefits into motivators rather than entitlements is to continually remind employees of the value of those benefits. To do this, some companies send employees a report of the monetary value of their benefits at least once a year.
Benefits can also be improved or added as the company prospers. One motivational technique is to survey workers about the types of benefits they would like, and then implement some or all of those benefits if the company meets its performance objectives for the year. If employees associate the desirable benefits with company performance, and if they also understand the role they play in helping the company succeed, then benefits can become tangible rewards.
Individual Rewards
Outstanding effort or performance on the part of an individual employee may justify a special one-time material reward. A “spot bonus” of cash, a gift card, or some other type of material reward is a way to acknowledge an employee and motivate him or her to keep up the good work. If it is unexpected, it has even greater value to the recipient.
When you recognize an individual’s effort with a material reward, it is often appropriate to acknowledge the individual publicly as well. Recognition connected to a reward is a very powerful motivator. The individual’s achievement and reward can also inspire other employees. Make sure, however, that the individual effort is truly worth recognizing in a group setting. Otherwise, employees may resent instead of appreciate the recognition.
Team Rewards
Monetary and other material incentives can make the point that working as a team can be rewarding. Such rewards might take the form of prizes, vacations, bonuses, profit sharing, or stock options.
The key element is to distinguish team rewards from individual rewards. Having team members share in a bonus pool that increases as the team meets certain specific objectives is different from rewarding an individual salesperson who exceeds his sales quota. Any team reward should be equitably distributed in a way that does not favor one employee over another.
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CASE FILE
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A SYSTEM TO STIMULATE CHANGE
When former General Electric CEO Jack Welch sought to spark and support entrepreneurial behavior all up and down the ranks, he targeted the compensation system—traditionally consisting of salary increases of 3 to 4 percent annually for all and yearly bonuses of 10 to 15 percent for most of the more senior people. The new system boosted salary increases and bonuses—to 10 to 15 percent and 30 to 40 percent respectively. And rather than handing them out solely to the people at the top of the corporate hierarchy, the new plan reserved rewards for the entrepreneurs and most effective managers in the company. This was the first step in completely redefining the fundamental bond between GE and its workforce.
SOURCE: The Individualized Corporation by Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher Bartlett (HarperBusiness, 1997).
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The BIG Picture
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REMEMBER THE OTHERS
It is likely that only 20 percent of your employees—if that—make outstanding contributions to your organization. This small percentage represents the few superstars who may exceed even your most aggressive objectives.
Although these employees should be rewarded, the others also merit attention. The 80 percent of your employees who work consistently, day in and day out, contributing in so many little ways to your organization’s success, are