Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Best Incentives are Free
This article relates to the Recognition competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of how the performance of one team was affected when the powerful motivator of daily praise and recognition disappeared. This competency also explores what type of behavior is appreciated and rewarded within your organization. Studies show that employees who receive regular recognition and praise are more likely to increase their individual productivity levels, increase engagement with their colleagues, and stay longer at the organization. Evaluating this competency can be especially useful if your organization is experiencing low productivity levels or ineffective teamwork. This short story, The Best Incentives Are Free, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates the value of praise and recognition as a powerful, cost-effective motivator available to managers on a daily basis. Anonymous Submission I work at a company that prides itself on the exceptional quality of its customer service. As employees, we handle a variety of customer issues and concerns by phone, as well as mail and e-mail. In the past, my team has won several awards due to the enormous amount of positive feedback we consistently received from satisfied clients. Recently, the situation changed. Our manager informed us that for some reason, our productivity was down. We would need to direct our focus toward handling a larger number of customers per hour each day. We were told that quantity was of the utmost importance. Since our team already demonstrated that it could excel in terms of quality, the change in focus should present no problem. We operated under this direction for a time, focusing only on the number of customers serviced each hour. After a while, the service awards stopped. We no longer received the daily praise and recognition for a situation expertly handled or a glowing review e-mailed to our manager from a valued customer. When the company examined the results of an employee satisfaction survey, they showed that our team members experienced a substantial decrease in motivation when the daily recognition and praise stopped. Our team, as well as other employees throughout the company, ranked it as one of their most powerful incentives to providing the highest quality service - and for meeting the required quotas of cases handled. The team members expressed the opinion that superb customer service was their job description - no extra reward was needed, but praise and recognition for a job well done was billed as the most effective motivator. Upon review of the employee survey results, management realized the mistake made. Ignoring or minimizing the importance of our achievements in quality had caused our team morale to decline, as well as the quality of our work, even though we had produced the required numbers. The solution? Daily praise and recognition, given sincerely, positively, and specifically, must be reinstituted. Smart managers use this powerful motivational tool as often as possible. It's a cost-effective (free), proven productivity booster that enhances morale and creates a better all around workplace environment. © 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active. b>Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys. Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention. Launch your employee surveys with AlphaMeasure.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Six Reasons to K.I.S.S.
Six Reasons to K.I.S.S.
How Managers Can Turn Failures Into Successes
Although there are real, external reasons for managerial difficulty ? including massive reorganization after takeovers and the realities of discrimination due to age, sex, and race ? managers fail most often for reasons they themselves create.
People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not
Many business people and managers are spending too much time trying to change the underperforming people who work for them. They seem to believe that if they train people - tell them what to do or even threaten them with the sack - then the performance level will go up.
Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement is about recognition or attention from
another person. It can be physical such as - a pat on the
back, a touch or a handshake. It can also be psychological
such as - a word of praise, a compliment, even a "hello!" It
can even just be time spent with the person.
Creativity Management - The Value of Being Prolific
When asked his secret to success, the author Graham Green said that it was down to his always writing 500 words a day. There are real reasons why this philosophy rings true:
Motivation - You Get What You Reward
There's a programme currently running on BBC Television in
the UK called - "Little Angels." It's a series that offers
help and advice to parents who're experiencing behaviour
difficulties with their children. I'm sure there are similar
programmes in other parts of the world. The children are
often out of control, won't do what they're told and
generally dominate the family.
Juggling Demands in an Organization
JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from those of their organization, employees, and themselves. Good leaders, never drop one demand at the expense of another equally important requirement. They give each demand its fair share, while balancing the organizational goals with their employees' needs, while still fulfilling their own personal/professional purposes. Successful leaders meet both these business and personal needs through their staff. They learn about their staff's aspirations, their strengths and potential contributions to the organization. From this knowledge, they mesh together a successful working team. Sounds easy, doesn't it? For starters, it becomes much easier if you know your organization.
Cross Cultural Solutions for International Business
Globalisation, the expansion of intercontinental trade, technological advances and the increase in the number of companies dealing on the international stage have brought about a dramatic change in the frequency, context and means by which people from different cultural backgrounds interact.
Organizational Techniques - Tickler and Chron File
One of the biggest problems we encounter in our consulting with businesses, and our students is time management and organizational techniques. This article will concentrate on some good organizational strategies. Two of the best organizational techniques I have found over the years are the Tickler File and the Chron File. This article will concentrate on how to use them everyday in your business.
How to Prepare for Your Companys Financial Future
Sooner or later, most business owners need to look for outside financing. Whether it's a line of credit with a bank to handle predictable cash crunches or a significant capital investment to improve plant and equipment, virtually every business will need access to additional funds at some point in its life.
Taking Care of Middle Manager Bounce Off
How many times have the management consultants been 'in' and after leaving, have left little or no trace of their passing?
Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Employees
Fear, Incentives and Growth
New Leadership For A New War
Military analysts call this "asymmetrical" war (as if war has a terrible symmetry); and we know that it will be as different from conventional war as three-dimensional, blindfolded chess is from conventional chess. But one thing is certain, leadership lies at the heart of achieving victory. You only have to look to history to understand that when people needed to accomplish great things, whether in war or peace, great leaders had to rise to the occasion.
Real Costs in Distribution and What it Means To Your Company
Ever feel that all the lawyers in thh Country need to give their lives up for our freedom, by exiting the planet forthwith? Yes, me too. In an article in CCJ-Commercial Carrier Journal entitled "Ticking Away" The Insurance Time Bomb. It discussed how the trucking industry is limiting their insurance expenses by skipping some of the more prevalent coverage. For this reason the trucking companies have begun to add to our service contracts in the service sector, higher limits and more comprehensive additional insured certificates.
Action Learning: Its More Than OJT
For centuries companies have used on-the-job training (OJT). OJT works because it follows much of what we know about adult learning theory. For example, we know:
Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality
Do you have some goals you want to achieve or dreams you want to fulfill? A useful tool in reaching the outcomes you desire is the creation of a vision, which can be short or long-term. I recommend writing down specifics to add clarity and focus.
Communication Mix-Up
My friend Delia is the owner of a small private school. This spring her school is experiencing the crunch of reduced enrollment for next September and all staff have been asked to take a six percent salary decrease. One staff member, much to Delia's horror, outright refused and resigned her teaching position at the school. Delia pleaded with her, telling her how valuable a teacher she was, how parents had come to count on her expertise, and essentially how the school couldn't operate without her. The next day she had reconsidered resigning her teaching position, saying that it was because of what Delia had said regarding how valuable she was to the school.
Beyond Management Coaching: When Things Are Getting Out of Control
Leaders and Managers often ask us, 'What do you do when you have tried to coach and counsel an employee about a performance concern, and the employee has not responded?
5 Tips For Creating Great Jobs
1) Create A Powerful "Mission Statement"-
Saying ?No? Gracefully to Customers and Colleagues
Envision the scenario: You've just been asked at the last minute by Chris, the organizer of your local networking group, to replace the scheduled speaker at next month's meeting. You already have too many commitments on your plate. Imagine your response:
|
