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Opinion: Let’s return to recognizing, rewarding employees

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One value of specialization is that when you become really good at what you do, people recognize you and seek you out for work. Doctors, lawyers and your plumber prove this all the time.

Bob Nelson is an internationally known guru on employee recognition and rewards. He has been developing ways for business owners, leaders, managers and supervisors to catch their people doing the right things since the publication of his 1994 book, “1001 Ways to Reward Employees.”

That book, which sold over 1.4 million copies and spawned several sequels, was one of the first business books to recognize that rewarding employees was not only worthwhile but even kind of fun. Nelson studied employee motivation for his doctorate and began to tell business leaders what we all know today: Workers come to work for more than just the paycheck. It’s how they are treated that most matters.

Most studies and surveys on employee motivation come to the same conclusion: Pay is an important factor in why an employee chooses to join an organization but not the primary motivator. And how new employees are treated from day one, as part of an organized and thorough onboarding and orientation process, goes a long way to helping them stay and work hard while they are there.

Consider your own career. You have certainly worked at jobs where you weren’t paid much but still enjoyed the work, the culture and your co-workers. Some of us have worked in jobs where the pay was good but the culture, the working conditions and how we were treated drove us to quit. Many of us have worked hard at volunteer jobs where we didn’t get a dime and we did it because we loved it, wanted to give back to our community or cherished the ability to support and be with our kids. Getting involved in grassroots community projects, helping at your church or coaching your children’s sports teams are examples where what we do is not driven by an economic reward.

There still are certain business owners or leaders who believe that employees only work – or only work hard – for a paycheck. This ongoing belief may be connected to the reality that in the current economy, with multiple stimulus checks and extended unemployment, some workers are in no rush to return to work.

A popular Springfield restaurant recently scheduled interviews with 70 applicants; three showed up. This will be a temporary lull. Our return to a more robust economy will have to happen as demand for products and services increase and we reach herd immunity.

Reviewing Nelson’s books on employee motivation and rewards, several themes emerge. Like an army, the workforce is contented by a full stomach. Food is a powerful motivator. Prisons rioted and old navies mutinied when the chow was terrible. The popularity of gift baskets, restaurant gift cards, bagels and coffee for the whole office, pizza every other Friday or an occasional catered lunch, suggests that employees like free food – healthy some days and sweet, fried and salty on others.

Random checks are nice rewards, too, beyond the year-end bonus. Think Amazon gift cards, Apple music cards, gas cards, sales or operational performance bonuses and good-ol’ American greenbacks.

The key to any reward is to make it random, episodic and performance based. Doughnuts every Monday is boring after the third week. The same reward every quarter shows no imagination. Plan your employee rewards program like it was a Las Vegas slot machine; it pays off when the person least expects it. Be fair – don’t always recognize the same rising stars. Be objective – one or more employees should not be rewarded for something others do every day.

Employee rewards and recognition efforts need a public element, too. One of Nelson’s surveys about what works suggested that public praise of an employee, led by a senior company leader, and done in front of the whole firm, had a lasting and positive impact. When an employee says, “Don’t make a big deal; I was just doing my job,” that’s your signal to put together a ceremony and provide that person with a symbol that shows your gratitude for doing that job with skill.

As we move from the work-from-home environment back to our offices and facilities, you can start your formalized employee recognition program with what your staff has done for each other and your customers, over the past difficult year. Then sit down with your human resources team and brainstorm the recognition and reward possibilities that are feasible, budget-friendly and, most of all, creative. Let’s get back to celebrating our workplace accomplishments, in small and big ways.

Steve Albrecht is a Springfield-based trainer, human resources consultant and employee coach. He can be reached atdrsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.

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