Although it may seem fairly obvious that receiving praise and recognition from one’s company is a motivating experience, sadly, many companies are failing miserably when it comes to saying thanks to their employees. Take Ko, a 50-year-old former employee of a dot-com in California. Her company proudly instituted a rewards program designed to motivate employees. What were the rewards for a job well done? Employees would receive a badge that read “U Done Good” and, each year, would receive a T-shirt as a means of annual recognition. Once an employee received 10 “U Done Good” badges, he or she could trade them in for something bigger and better—a paperweight. Ko states that she would have preferred a raise. “It was patronizing. There wasn’t any deep thought involved in any of this.” To make matters worse, she says, the badges were handed out arbitrarily and were not tied to performance. And what about those T-shirts? Ko states that the company instilled a strict dress code, so employees could not even wear the shirts if they wanted to. Needless to say, the employee recognition program seemed like an empty gesture rather than a motivator. Even programs that provide employees with more expensive rewards can backfire, especially if the rewards are given insincerely. When praising employees for a job well done, managers need to ensure that the praise is given in conjunction with the specific accomplishment. In this way, employees may not only feel valued by their organization but will also know what actions to take to be rewarded in the future.
1. If praising employees for doing a good job seems to be a fairly easy and obvious motivational tool, why do you think companies and managers don’t often do it?
2. As a manager, what steps would you take to motivate your employees after observing them perform well?
3. Are there any downsides to giving employees too much verbal praise? What might these downsides be and how could you alleviate them as a manager?
4. As a manager, how would you ensure that recognition given to employees is distributed fairly and justly?