Are reward and recognition programs important in a business environment? Studies have shown that rewards and recognition motivate people to do a better job because they know they are valued and increasingly realize how important they are to the business. Motivated people offer great potential for success in business projects, team endeavors, and job performance. A reward and recognition program helps to better motivate people when it offers everyone in the organization the opportunity to be recognized and the people involved are openly recognized as valuable to the company.
Most business managers realize that there are two types of rewards, monetary and non-monetary. Monetary includes hard dollar incentives in the form of bonuses or raises that individuals or groups can receive for satisfactory or superior job performance. Non-monetary rewards are what many managers think of in relation to promotions, high-profile job assignments, or another form of soft recognition. Whether the reward is monetary, not soft or heavy, it must be tailored to the individual or group by determining what would be best personally and proportionally, as well as providing pleasure to the recipients.
The rewards must be:
- Personal determining whether they prefer public or private recognition and reaching out to those involved to see what they prefer, be it a prize, a gift, time off, or money.
- Proportional balancing the size or type of reward with individual or group contribution and achievements when it comes to organizational goals.
- Nice means making things fun and entertaining through the reward event or by selecting a creative reward.
When looking at recognition, consumers should consider the internal and external benefits to the recipients. Internal benefits include the sense of pride and satisfaction that a person or team can derive from a job well done and their personal motivators for continuing to do well. External benefits would relate to what the individual or team can see, touch, or wear. These types of recognition are used to reinforce a particular behavior in recipients. They can also provide a short-term benefit to the manager by increasing the level of motivation or good behaviors of the recipients of recognition. Both internal and external recognition must be granted promptly with an accurate and principled recognition of why it is being granted.
The recognition must be:
- Precise giving detailed individual or group information on the relevance of what was done, as well as recognizing when, where, why and how it was done.
- Early showing sincere and honest appreciation of an individual or group that supports organizational beliefs and values through their commitment and accomplishments.
- Righ now giving a timely acknowledgment as soon as possible after the event has occurred or the action has been completed.
Rewards and recognition are used to motivate people to do a better job. Motivated people are important to the success of a company through its projects and teams. A reward and recognition program that helps motivate people should be an important and highly valued part of doing business.
