What is the Most Powerful Workplace Motivator

Is this a rhetorical question? Is there really a definitive answer to the most powerful motivator for workers?  Thousands of employee satisfaction surveys have been conducted partly to uncover the answer.  Some lists derived from these surveys rank what employees want, but none have been definitive.

A while back, Ian Larkin, Assistant Professor UCLA Anderson School of Management, said that most powerful workplace motivator is our natural tendency to measure our own performance against the performance of others.  He does seem to have some credibility in this belief based on the work of David Rock and his book “Your Brain at Work”

In which he explains that the balance of how we feel amongst others is actually dictated by our perception of status.  Your brain maintains and continuously updates complex maps of the "Pecking Order" of the people around you.

Any parent can tell you that a surefire way to start a fight among siblings is to major fight is to offer one child a treat and offer another child an even bigger one.  Suddenly, a special treat turns into a great injustice.

In the workplace it is an employee’s natural tendency to measure their performance against the performance of others.  Traditional economics has held the very

rational view that simply having financial incentives causes people to work harder. 

But Larkin’s research suggests that in deciding how hard we work and how well we think we're performing, social comparisons matter just as much.

The sales incentive industry has known for years the value of peer recognition. Salespeople often forego the opportunity of large future commissions to achieve the status as member of a special sales club. At some point, incremental commissions are outweighed by the desire to be the best.  Research also showed that salespeople who are right on the margin of club induction are actually willing to pay to get over the margin and into the club.  In these instances the status of club membership is a very powerful motivator.

So, what is the best motivator in the workplace?  We don’t think the work by these behavioral completely answer the question, but they certainly give us room for thought when we plan our next incentive or recognition program. 

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Detrimental Myths About Top Performers

The main objective of HR is the maintenance of better human relations in the organization.  This is accomplished by the development, application and evaluation of policies, procedures and programs relating to human resources to optimize their contribution towards the organizations objectives.

Most HR professional spend a lot of time discussing employees — particularly those employees who appear to be struggling. They look for ways to support and encourage them, to boost their performance, and to incentivize them to reach greater heights. While it’s certainly important to try to improve the performance of marginal employees, all too often HR can forget about top performers — those who constantly and quietly do their best and perform well.

Certainly all employees are valuable to the smooth running of a business, but high achievers and top performers are truly essential in performance management terms. They are the ones who are eager to push your business forward, because they know that their success and the company’s success are linked.

In over 40 years of implementing incentive programs we have seen many examples of how HR, (often by mistake) do in fact overlook top performers.  Following are just some of the damaging myths about your best employees that you should be award of: 

Myth #1: Top performers don’t need as much recognition as other employees.

In fact an argument can be made that you need to spend proportionately as much or more time recognizing their performance.  Not all high achievers are self-motivated.  Nothing is more discouraging to them than being taken for granted and recognition is one of the fires that fuel their performance. Reverse the 80/20 rule and spend 80% of your time with your best people.

Myth #2:  Top performers can always be relied upon to be excited about their work.

Top performers are always looking for ways to advance and improve. If you don’t pay attention to this strength, they can lose it can his is a leadership trait that should be encouraged, not overlooked. If and lost it.  Don’t’ let them get bored.  Discuss advancement opportunities with them and see how you can best put them and their abilities to use, develop new skills and broaden their horizons.

Myth #3:  Top performers will be bold enough to ask for what they want.  Not true, as your best people, your competition will know who they are and they will be pursuing them. Not all best performers are assertive and extroverted. It’s altogether possible that you have a top performer on your hands who is working themselves to the bone and who is eager to advance, but they don’t feel entirely comfortable discussing how to do so.

Over the years we have been a part of dozens of top performer events and ceremonies and celebrations.  As we are a supplier and not considered as part of executive management, we are privy to many peer group conversations by top performers.  You would be amazed at how often the subject of leaving their jobs for “greener pastures” is overheard.

To assume the best will always be your best is a big mistake.  Many of the best and brightest in any company have come from a competitor who took them for granted.

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Are Performance Reviews Poor Indicators of Performance?

According to a survey conducted by Globoforce and SHRM, which polled nearly 800 HR leaders, four in ten traditional performance reviews are poor indicators of actual performance.

Having been involved with employee performance improvement for decades, this result does not come as much of a surprise.  These reviews have never been consistent; they rarely contain solid measurable objectives and are always too subjective. They can destroy teamwork; they tend to be a solution looking for a problem; they rarely document what they are supposed to document; they’re backward looking when they should be facing forward.  And frankly speaking everyone (well almost everyone) hates them. Actually we are surprised that the survey didn’t find more than four of ten that were poor indicators. 

So what do you do in place of them?  This survey suggests that investing “1% or more of payroll in values-based recognition programs.”  60% of the HR professionals said their companies actually have these types of programs and those who dedicate the 1% (or more) of payroll said their programs are:

• Three times more likely to rate their programs as “excellent” compared to HR leaders whose companies do not spend that amount

• Three and a half times more likely to say their programs help to attract new job candidates 

• Nearly twice as likely to say their programs deliver a strong return on investment 

• Twice as likely to say their programs help retain employees.

Unfortunately, most companies do not spend 1% of payroll.  And that’s too bad, because the return on this investment, according to a growing body of data that supports incremental profit gained from employee engagement is mounting.  Take the time to look at your payroll data at 1% and then divide by the number of your employees.  That number may be relatively smaller than you imagine.  In many cases it’s less than $600 per employee per year ($50 a month.)  Is that too much to allocate to recognize those who really deserve it?

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Recognition Programs and Annual Performance Reviews

What took them so long? Companies like GE, Adobe, Accenture, Deloitte and Netflix have eliminated their Annual Performance Review.  Many HR professionals believe this is only the beginning.  Managers who have worked for hours and hours of individual meeting and completion of appraisal forms know just how much a waste of time the majority of these appraisals came to be.

According to research conducted by CBE Global: 

• 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their annual performance reviews/management systems
• 59% of employees feel performance reviews are not worth the time invested
• 56% of employees do not receive feedback on what to improve
• 66% of annual reviews misidentify high performers regardless of stacked rankings
• 88% of HR managers say the annual appraisal process doesn’t yield accurate information 

A recent survey by SHRM found that 72% of companies conduct formal appraisals once a year but only 2% of the employees gave their employer an “A” grade for their performance management.

Hay solutions have stated several reasons why formal (annual?) appraisals are important:  

1. They make your people feel valued
2. They allow you to set new qoals
3. They can resolve grievances
4. They help to strengthen relationships within the team
5. They allow for refocusing on your team
6. They help provide oversight for current projects
7. They can help assess training needs. 

While these are certainly valid reasons, they don’t necessarily need to be done either annually or formally.  They are all excellent practices that can be easily included in the format and structure of your recognition program.

For years, the recognition industry has recommended that companies provide timely, honest performance feedback on ongoing basis and then recognizing employee performance when appropriate.  This type of consistent appraisal can have huge impact on how satisfied, motivated and productive their employees are.

Is it time for companies to consider a broader approach to recognition that includes the principles and budgets previously used in annual appraisals?  How much more effective would your recognition programs become?  

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net