Feedback: The Key to Employee Motivation

As mentioned in recent posts, a culture that is based on a strong purpose and values from the beginning helps to institutionalize the right kinds of employee behaviors.

 One common thread to the most successful employee recognition programs that we have researched over the years is honest and timely feedback.  Conversely, a common mistake that will negatively affect any recognition program is not having the type of feedback that lets employees know how they are doing.  

All too often, employees go through their workday amid the “corporate noise” that managers use as their main source of feedback.  And you don’t know until it’s too late that an employee is quitting their job because of the lack of respect and recognition that can only come from genuine feedback.

If you want employees to go above and beyond, give 110% or whatever other cliché you’d like to use… then you have to tell them what exceptional performance looks like, and then recognize them for that performance. They can’t do it if they don’t know.  And the more consistently you are at letting them know, the sooner their positive performance will become a habit.

Behaviorists for decades have been informing companies about the importance of feedback.  Feedback is the glue that binds the “what” you want them to do with the “what’s in it for them”, the positive consequences for them making the change in the first place.
Not having feedback is like bowling with a curtain in front of the pins.  You do a great job of lining up, approaching the lane with a good motion, rolling the ball down the center and

hearing the pins dropping, but you don’t know how many went down.  You can’t have a good recognition program without letting everyone know how they are doing!

Your company's purpose should connect your employees' work to how it impacts your customers' daily lives, creating an emotional, rather than financial, incentive to the job. When you let them know how well they are doing, the entire behavior model moves into a continuous loop of positive reinforcement.

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