Feature: Staff motivation: Beyond recognition

The British can be a cynical bunch. For many people, the idea of an “employee of the month” scheme is likely to be treated with ridicule or suspicion, so it is essential, when putting in place a staff recognition programme, to get the structure and the communications right – or the scheme will be ignored or even alienate people.

Despite the traditional scepticism, investment in reward and recognition programmes in the UK is on the increase, says Jonathan Haskell, chief executive of Michael C Fina – an offshoot of a US recognition company – but he admits that, if a scheme is not put together properly, it can actually demotivate.

“If you have John Smith appearing at the top of the leader board all the time, everyone says, ‘It’s always him, I’m not interested, we can’t win,’ and they turn off,” Haskell explains. “If you have a series of different people who are not John Smith appearing on the leader board, people suddenly think it’s possible. It galvanises them to take part.”

One solution is to measure people’s performance over short periods of time. “By making it weekly, fortnightly or monthly, it can be a lot more exciting,” Haskell says.

While this applies to the 80 per cent of workers who need motivating, schemes should still not alienate the top performers who are more self-motivating. As Catherine Forrest, head of business incentives at retailer House of Fraser, suggests, it is all about structuring the rewards. “Offer interim awards for those who reach quarterly targets, and give a major award at the year end for best overall performance,” she says.

Adam Maher, director of loyalty at incentives specialist ipoints.co.uk, believes organisations should draw on the experience of experts rather than rush in alone. “Just looking to run something like an employee of the month scheme with little thought as to your objectives as well as the wants, needs and interests of your staff will not enable you to maximise return on investment from this activity,” he explains. “In fact, you could incentivise the wrong behaviour and, just as worryingly, alienate staff.”

The catchword is “inclusivity” and, as Paul Brown, incentives specialist at motivation company Maritz, points out, “the most effective recognition programmes are those which are open to all employees, from the post room to the board room”. It can particularly serve as a way of rewarding non-sales personnel who had a support role in securing a deal or sale.

If a diverse workforce is being targeted, the objectives must be chosen carefully and communicated so that everyone understands them. “Typically, you start by looking at a company’s values,” says Adam Sidbury, executive director at motivation agency Grass Roots UK. “Sometimes they are quite practical and you can reward people when behaviours are demonstrating values against these categories. But, in other cases, the values tend to be pretty intangible, so we will do some work with them to interpret them.”

Objectives can vary from “going the extra mile” or as a reward for praise from a customer. Maher at ipoints suggests: “Reward and recognition programmes can improve performance across an organisation including areas such as productivity, punctuality, attendance at work and staff retention, to name a few.”

Once the objectives have been agreed up front, communications are central to persuading people that it is fair and they have a chance of winning, either as individuals or teams. “Schemes should be transparent so each employee can see how their department measures up against others,” says Brown at Maritz.

The decision-making process also needs to be transparent. Nominations can come from colleagues or anyone within the organisation, to be judged by a panel of representatives of all sectors of the workforce. Alternatively, if managers are to be the arbiters, they must be clear on the structure and criteria. “Involvement of senior personnel is instrumental in driving forward any scheme and in ensuring that the project is workable from an operational point of view,” says Forrest at House of Fraser.

All managers must buy into a scheme and make sure that good communications are in place, stresses Mike Davies, director of performance improvement and motivation company BI. “While you can recognise someone without reward, you can’t recognise them without effective communication,” he says. “This may be one to one, in a team meeting, posted on a website, in a letter or even in a company-wide awards ceremony.”

Tracy Aslam, head of incentive business at Kingfisher Gift Vouchers, stresses that visually impactful communication pieces must underpin a scheme. “We’re talking about utilising a comprehensive mix of media including staff newsletters, staff noticeboards, bulletin boards, email, intranet and payslips, to maximise the opportunity to engage with staff in recreation areas.” She adds that this is particularly relevant if all staff do not have access to PCs.

Kevin Harrington, research and development director at voucher supplier Sodexho Pass, believes that the more that is invested in communication, the better the return in investment. “There needs to be a ‘buzz’ that gets people talking and wanting to be part of the scheme, and this can only be generated if everyone knows about it,” he explains.

Forrest at House of Fraser adds that communication can add to the value of a reward. “As everyone likes a public pat on the back, good news stories should be publicised at presentations or conferences. Acknowledgment of success is almost as good as the reward itself, and specially made certificates or trophies help build a success story.”

Good communication linked to tactical awards help to keep the momentum going, which can be a challenge with long-term recognition programmes. Aslam at Kingfisher Gift Vouchers says: “Regular updates and ongoing communication on current status and individual achievements is key to momentum, to keep things top of mind and to motivate.”

Yvonne West, manager of Sainsbury’s Business Direct, suggests that rewards are changed frequently “to keep it fresh and interesting. One month you could offer shopping vouchers, the next an iPod. That way you’re engaging everyone and not excluding certain people.”

With the right mix of rewards – from the high-value aspirational incentives for top performers to smaller tactical awards – a good recognition programme can have measurable return on investment. “As a general rule, well motivated personnel provide better levels of customer service and are more likely to stay with a company,” says Forrest at House of Fraser. “Workers that are rewarded for their efforts are more productive, and higher productivity means higher profits.”

BI: Be Incredible

As specialists in motivation, BI should know how to motivate its own staff, and it has proven this with its in-house scheme. Be Incredible is an online reward and recognition programme which is built around the concept that anyone in any role can nominate someone to be a “superhero”. Each month, nominations are judged by a panel made up of the previous month’s winners and not just management. “This serves to add even more credibility to the selection of that month’s superheroes,” says Mike Davies, BI’s director of performance improvement.

Winners receive AwardperQs, which are BI’s own patented online reward system. The points can be spent on a wide range of rewards from an online catalogue.

They are also announced by the managing director at the weekly company-wide round-up meeting, and the top person is adorned with a cape. They also receive a personal congratulatory letter from the managing director and are featured on the intranet. Those judged to have performed best throughout the year gain a place on the President’s Club, a five-star luxury holiday for two.

Since its launch, the programme’s engagement rate has increased by more than 200 per cent compared to the previous scheme.