Want to know motivates employees? Ask them
It seems counter-intuitive that a rising star would stay in a high-stress, low-paying position for a long period of time. But if such a worker is recognized for her efforts in ways that truly motivate her, it can happen.
An organization just needs to figure out what forms of recognition are the most valuable to its employees and then design an on-the-spot recognition program to ensure staff are recognized in ways that are meaningful to them.
Recognition that is meaningful has the greatest impact on employee commitment, engagement, motivation and retention.
However, more often than not, employers fail to meet the needs of employees in this area. Receiving a pen with the company logo on it won’t motivate a disengaged employee — that’s not news.
But organizations too often assume they know what forms of recognition are meaningful to employees without taking the time, or without knowing how, to ask them.
Here is how organizations can ensure an on-the-spot recognition program is meaningful and successful.
Set objectives
What does the organization hope to achieve with an on-the-spot recognition program? Is the objective to increase productivity, decrease turnover or improve employee engagement? Is it a method of reinforcing company values or is it simply a way to say thanks for a job well done?
If the company has included innovation as a corporate goal and the objective of the on-the-spot recognition program is to support the corporate goals, then rewarding innovation should be a clear objective.
Keep plan design simple and clear
Design a simple recognition plan that clearly defines what behaviours or performance metrics qualify an individual or team for on-the-spot recognition. A few key questions to ask are:
•Will the organization recognize employees for performing the expected duties within their jobs or will they only be recognized when they go above and beyond expectations? For example, should a senior programmer be recognized for completing a project with minimal coding errors or is that an expectation of the job?
•What behaviours or performance metrics will be recognized and what behaviours or performance metrics will not be recognized? The on-the-spot recognition program may recognize teams for completing projects on time and on budget, but may not recognize birthdays, anniversaries or other significant dates.
Once what qualifies an individual or team for on-the-spot recognition has been defined, set guidelines that outline design elements such as budget, how recognition will be tracked, the level of administration that will be involved and create a communication plan for managers and employees.
Ensure recognition is meaningful
On-the-spot recognition programs backfire when they don’t align with organizational culture in addition to not meeting the needs of employees.
Branded company paraphernalia, such as a pen with the company logo, can be a great way to support company culture but may not be the most effective way to motivate employees.
The easiest way to ensure the program fits the culture of the organization is to ask employees for feedback on what they would find the most meaningful.
There are many ways this information can be obtained. Questions can be added to an employee survey or the organization can survey key contributors on what forms of recognition would provide the greatest motivation.
The easiest way is to encourage managers to continuously gauge what their teams would find meaningful. Performance reviews provide the perfect opportunity for managers to ask the simple question, “What would truly motivate you in terms of on-the-spot recognition?”
The manager equation
Make managers the program champions — ensure they understand, support and are empowered to deliver the program.
This is easier said than done. Managers know it is their responsibility to deliver on-the-spot recognition, but often don’t follow up due to lack of time, difficulty of administration and unclear guidelines.
Managing the risks associated with the delivery of the program is important in its design. Ask managers for feedback on the barriers they encounter when delivering on-the-spot recognition and incorporate possible solutions into the plan.
Managers may cite unclear guidelines and a culture of entitlement as the barriers they face during delivery. Simplifying criteria for recognition and encouraging all managers to be consistent, but spontaneous, may mitigate this risk.
Recognize on-the-spot
The phrase on-the-spot recognition literally means “on the spot.” Rewarding an employee or team immediately after the act will ensure the behaviour is reinforced and repeated.
Waiting until the next edition of the quarterly newsletter to print a public “thank you” to those who contributed to the success of a particular project is fine, but the momentum and the chance to build on the exhibited behaviour is lost when recognition or reward is delayed.
Stacey Morin is a consulting analyst with Vancouver-based Caliber Leadership Systems Inc. She can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.caliberleadership.com.
An organization just needs to figure out what forms of recognition are the most valuable to its employees and then design an on-the-spot recognition program to ensure staff are recognized in ways that are meaningful to them.
Recognition that is meaningful has the greatest impact on employee commitment, engagement, motivation and retention.
However, more often than not, employers fail to meet the needs of employees in this area. Receiving a pen with the company logo on it won’t motivate a disengaged employee — that’s not news.
But organizations too often assume they know what forms of recognition are meaningful to employees without taking the time, or without knowing how, to ask them.
Here is how organizations can ensure an on-the-spot recognition program is meaningful and successful.
Set objectives
What does the organization hope to achieve with an on-the-spot recognition program? Is the objective to increase productivity, decrease turnover or improve employee engagement? Is it a method of reinforcing company values or is it simply a way to say thanks for a job well done?
If the company has included innovation as a corporate goal and the objective of the on-the-spot recognition program is to support the corporate goals, then rewarding innovation should be a clear objective.
Keep plan design simple and clear
Design a simple recognition plan that clearly defines what behaviours or performance metrics qualify an individual or team for on-the-spot recognition. A few key questions to ask are:
•Will the organization recognize employees for performing the expected duties within their jobs or will they only be recognized when they go above and beyond expectations? For example, should a senior programmer be recognized for completing a project with minimal coding errors or is that an expectation of the job?
•What behaviours or performance metrics will be recognized and what behaviours or performance metrics will not be recognized? The on-the-spot recognition program may recognize teams for completing projects on time and on budget, but may not recognize birthdays, anniversaries or other significant dates.
Once what qualifies an individual or team for on-the-spot recognition has been defined, set guidelines that outline design elements such as budget, how recognition will be tracked, the level of administration that will be involved and create a communication plan for managers and employees.
Ensure recognition is meaningful
On-the-spot recognition programs backfire when they don’t align with organizational culture in addition to not meeting the needs of employees.
Branded company paraphernalia, such as a pen with the company logo, can be a great way to support company culture but may not be the most effective way to motivate employees.
The easiest way to ensure the program fits the culture of the organization is to ask employees for feedback on what they would find the most meaningful.
There are many ways this information can be obtained. Questions can be added to an employee survey or the organization can survey key contributors on what forms of recognition would provide the greatest motivation.
The easiest way is to encourage managers to continuously gauge what their teams would find meaningful. Performance reviews provide the perfect opportunity for managers to ask the simple question, “What would truly motivate you in terms of on-the-spot recognition?”
The manager equation
Make managers the program champions — ensure they understand, support and are empowered to deliver the program.
This is easier said than done. Managers know it is their responsibility to deliver on-the-spot recognition, but often don’t follow up due to lack of time, difficulty of administration and unclear guidelines.
Managing the risks associated with the delivery of the program is important in its design. Ask managers for feedback on the barriers they encounter when delivering on-the-spot recognition and incorporate possible solutions into the plan.
Managers may cite unclear guidelines and a culture of entitlement as the barriers they face during delivery. Simplifying criteria for recognition and encouraging all managers to be consistent, but spontaneous, may mitigate this risk.
Recognize on-the-spot
The phrase on-the-spot recognition literally means “on the spot.” Rewarding an employee or team immediately after the act will ensure the behaviour is reinforced and repeated.
Waiting until the next edition of the quarterly newsletter to print a public “thank you” to those who contributed to the success of a particular project is fine, but the momentum and the chance to build on the exhibited behaviour is lost when recognition or reward is delayed.
Stacey Morin is a consulting analyst with Vancouver-based Caliber Leadership Systems Inc. She can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.caliberleadership.com.
