RECOGNITION PROGRAMMES
Small rewards may boost productivity
Non-cash awards can have a "surprising impact on employee satisfaction and performance, carrying more weight even than cold cash", says a report in a recent issue of the US human resources magazine Workforce.
There is growing awareness amongst reward practitioners that small gifts that symbolise your appreciation - everything from a weekend in Paris to a coffee mug - represent better value than cash.
"It doesn’ t have to be about the value of the gift", says the report's author, Sarah Fister Gale. "It’ s about the celebration and recognition that go with it. It shows employees you appreciate them and gives them a symbol of that recognition."
Making it work
So, how should your organisation approach introducing a recognition programme? According to the experts Sarah Fister Gale interviewed, there are four key steps for getting it right:
1. Establish a clear-cut goal for the scheme that is directly tied to company values. It can be increasing sales, improving customer satisfaction, or building employee loyalty, says Fister Gale.
2. Provide training if the goal requires a change or improvement in behaviour. As one leading recognition exponent told Fister Gale: "Incentives alone won’ t improve productivity if employees don’ t have the skills or knowledge to change their behaviour."
3. Ensure the gifts are appealing, varied, and worth the change in behaviour. "Give employees a selection and make it easy to get small rewards for small changes in behaviour, while building toward something bigger", the report says.
4. Success depends on regular communications. "A programme needs a title and theme to identify it, a big launch to kick it off, and constant reminders of the goals through posters, articles, and celebrations of success along the way."
Practical examples
The Workforce article also includes case studies of recognition programmes in action in three diverse organisations:
Want to know more?
Title: "Small rewards can push productivity", by Sarah Fister Gale, Workforce, June 2002.
Availability: Workforce is published monthly by ACC Communications Inc, 245 Fischer Avenue B-2, Costa Mesa, California CA 92626, USA. For subscription services, tel: 001 303 604 1464 (USA 800 444 6485). Or email the online editor Todd Raphael for more information . . . raphaelt@workforce.com.
Take a look at the article online - see what you think . . .
http://email.workforce.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=eHTV0DiZN20CKs0Bnpa0Ag
Posted 8 July 2002