Meaningful tokens of appreciation: cash awards aren't the only way to motivate your workforce

HR Magazine, August, 2004 by Charlotte Garvey

Getting a mug with the company logo on it probably isn't enough to keep an unhappy employee from quitting. But small tokens of recognition presented with the right message and style can make employees feel appreciated, while at the same time underscoring a company's values.

"Small recognition programs have remarkable power when done correctly," notes Alan G. Robinson, professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Robinson recently co-authored Ideas Are Free (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2004), a book highlighting successful businesses that use nonmonetary recognition to reward employees who come up with innovative ideas. "Really powerful recognition has to do with the feeling and energy behind it, not the cost."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

One key to building good recognition programs is to focus more on how and why employees are singled out. "Recognition is an action, not an item," says Lynne Eskil, an HR specialist with recognition responsibilities for aerospace giant Boeing's engineering group in Puget Sound, Wash.

At a Toyota plant that Robinson visited in India, walls and machinery were "festooned with stickers" to indicate where employees had suggested innovative ideas. The stickers were inexpensive and distinctive, and included the name of the suggester on each one. Those stickers served as their own reward for employees, Robinson says, because employees could walk by the visual reminders, point and say, "That's my idea."

Beware the Form Letter

One mistake companies make with recognition programs is creating a one-size-fits-all solution that aspires to the lowest common denominator. A personal, individual touch, on the other hand, can go a long way.

"One quick thank-you note on your manager's stationery is worth a whole lot more than a cup and a T-shirt with a form letter," observes Robinson.

"I've had people tell me they were insulted by large cash bonuses in the way they were delivered, and others tell me that a single act of consideration on the part of their manager has kept them motivated and engaged in their position" for years, says rewards guru Bob Nelson, president of San Diego-based Nelson Motivation Inc. and author of several best-selling rewards and recognition books.

Nelson conducted a survey assessing the employee recognition practices most valued by 750 employees across various industries and found that those ranked at the top involved no cost at all, with several of the top 10 involving praise rather than perks or gifts. The No. 1 most important recognition from a manager was support and involvement, followed by personal praise and then autonomy and authority. Cash and other monetary awards came in at No. 10.

That's not to say that small items or privileges have no place in recognition. But employers should take care to "tie them to performance and deliver them in a timely, sincere and specific way," says Nelson.

Recognition as Strategy

For years, recognition has been viewed as a "nice thing to do." But companies now are thinking of recognition more strategically, with programs closely aligned to their business goals, says Greg Boswell, director of performance recognition at O.C. Tanner Co., a recognition services firm in Salt Lake City with numerous Fortune 500 clients.

Boswell, past president of the National Association for Employee Recognition (NAER) in Naperville, Ill., cites data from a study released last fall by NAER and WorldatWork, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based compensation association. The study found that of surveyed companies with recognition programs, 65 percent have a written strategy for the programs. Of those, 97 percent indicated that the recognition strategy is aligned with their organizational strategy and is linked directly to what matters most to their organizations.

When a recognition program is used in connection with a key business strategy or priority, such as improving customer service, increasing workplace safety or boosting innovation, the program provides an additional tool for communicating and emphasizing that goal with employees, Boswell says.

At AFLAC, the Columbus, Ga.-based insurance company, recognition programs are designed to reinforce a "strong sense of family" that is the company's culture, says Sharon Douglas, AFLAC's chief people officer. The founders' philosophy was to "treat people as you would like to be treated," she says, based on the conclusion that "if you treat the employees well, they will take care of the business."

AFLAC recognizes all employees' birthdays with a card and present they can select through a vendor.

AFLAC's employee appreciation week serves as a focal point for recognition and rewards, and includes family-friendly events. "It's just a big rah-rah time," says Douglas.

On the first Saturday of employee appreciation week, AFLAC rents a multiscreen movie theater, which makes viewing of family-oriented movies available free to the company's 4,000 employees on a first-come, first-served basis.

Later in the week, in addition to free breakfasts, random drawings for prizes and other activities, all employees are invited to bring their families to AFLAC celebrations at one of three locations of their choosing: an amusement park, nature facility or petting zoo. Employees also receive a souvenir, such as a picnic basket, at the end of the week.