EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
Motivating Your Workforce Toward High
Performance
Gregory P. Smith
Money may attract employees to the front door, but something else has to
keep them from going out the back. Managing people takes an entirely
different approach than it did just a year ago. Managers and supervisors
must place equal importance on employee development as they do on customer
satisfaction and retention. Today's workers don’t just expect a paycheck, but good
employees also want personal fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment.
Reward and recognition programs are a vital part of creating a motivating
work environment. A successful reward and recognition program does not
have to be complicated to be effective. A well-administered program allows
people to celebrate success, have fun, and feel good about who they are
and whom they work for.
The size of your organization and the age of your workforce dictates which
type of program works best. One organization improved motivation and
almost eliminated turnover by creating a family environment including
special incentives.
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Every year employees celebrate their work
anniversary with a cake and receive $100 for each year employed made out
in a check.
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Twice a year employees’ children receive a
$50 savings bond when they bring in their “all A’s” report card.
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They reward employees with a “Safety Bonus
Program.” Each employee’s driving record is screened twice a year. Anyone
who has a citation is removed from the program. Those employees remaining
at the end of the year split $2000.
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To minimize the “we-they” syndrome, every
Friday employees rotate jobs for one hour. For example, the person in the
Sales Department works on the front desk. Someone from Maintenance will
work in the Customer Service etc. This builds a stronger team and improves
communication within the company.
One of the easiest and most effective
programs to initiate is peer recognition. Peer recognition gives employees
the power to reward each other for doing a good job. It works because
employees themselves know who works hard and deserves recognition. After
all, managers can’t be everywhere all the time, and employees are in the
best position to catch people doing the right things.
Queen or King for the Quarter. Dayton Metro
Housing created the QUEST program to reward their workforce for
demonstrating good customer service skills. Each quarter, employees
receive three tokens. When they spot a fellow employee or manager
providing good customer service, they hand them a QUEST token. At the end
of the quarter, the person with the highest number of tokens is crowned
king or queen. Those with eight or more tokens are “knighted.” All the
King, Queens, and Knights attend a special banquet. At the end of the year
all token winners can use their tokens to bid on various awards and
prizes. Furthermore, the individual with the highest yearly number of
tokens is bequeathed a “scepter.”
You’re Magnificent! At the MAG
Insurance Company they use a form of recognition called “You’re
Magnificent!” The form is printed in triplicate and given to all employees
to nominate each other for outstanding behavior. The top copy goes to the
recognized employee. The second copy goes to the employee’s supervisor.
The third copy is posted for everyone to see on a bulletin board. Once a
month they take the posted copies and randomly draw the names of five
individuals called, “You’re Magnificents” for $10 gift certificates. Then
three additional “Magnificents” are drawn each quarter for a $250 gift
certificate.
Safety Bingo. For every accident
free day at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, associates are awarded a
bingo number. Each associate has a card and plays the game. A pot grows at
the rate of $1 per day with a starting amount of $100. The associate who
wins at safety bingo is awarded the cash in the pot. If they go over 100
days without an accident, it increases by $2 per day. If we have an
accident, the pot falls back down to $100 and it starts over again. If
someone wins, the pot remains at same pay out level, and continues to grow
$1 or $2 per day. This program reduced accidents by 50% each year.
Guess Whose Pet This Is? At
Industrial Developments International, the “Esprit” Committee organizes
fun activities such as the Pet of the Month contest. A pet’s picture is
put on the bulletin board and they guess who the owner is.
Shining Stars. Employees are allowed to reward each other and provided
an unlimited supply of Shining Star forms to handwrite notes about a
coworker’s good job. On the back of the form is a list of behaviors such
as:
Workers hand completed forms directly to
coworkers or send it through interoffice mail. At the end of the month the
department holds a recognition ceremony for everyone recognized. The
employee who received the highest number of forms gets an extra
appreciation and a reward by the director. Then, they place all the
month’s forms into a basket and they randomly draw out 4-5 forms for
additional prizes. Then the read the forms aloud and provide recognition
to both the awardee as well as the person who submitted the form.
In its “Thank You Coupon” program, the Texas Credit Union gives each
employee seven coupons a year to give to any employees they wish to
recognize for going out of their way to help customers or fellow
employees. The coupons are redeemed for $10 certificates for food, movies,
golf, and the like. Everyone in the company, from the president and vice
presidents down, is eligible for a coupon.
A work environment that attracts, keeps, and motivates its workforce is
one that gives workers a sense of pride, accomplishment, and purpose in
what they do. These informal programs provide an effective strategy for
motivating employees and they are simple to administer. They do not cost
much, do not take much time, and do not complicate the payroll. Instead of
providing cash incentives, you can substitute by providing winners with
extra breaks, movie tickets, time off, t-shirts, and other small gifts.
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word “Navigator” to info@chartcourse.com.
Greg Smith is the President of a management-consulting firm, Chart Your
Course International, located in Atlanta. He is a nationally recognized
speaker, author, and business performance consultant. He is on the Board
of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s
highest honor for business excellence. Greg's has written numerous books
including Here Today, Here Tomorrow: Transforming Your Workforce from High
Turnover to High Retention. Greg has been featured on television programs
such as Bloomberg News, PBS television, and in publications including
Business Week, USA Today, Kiplinger's, President and CEO, and the
Christian Science Monitor. Phone him at 770-860-9464. More articles
available: http://www.chartcourse.com
