Your Corporate Incentive Programs Aren’t Working — Guaranteed!

Do these things exist anymore since the credit cards have been around? Hmmm.

I have recently come to realize that when it comes to corporate setting, I don’t need praise. I don’t need the pat on the back. I don’t need a plaque with my name on it and a hundred signatures next to it. Cash works just fine for me. I know what my time is worth and I know the money that comes into my family is very useful for us.

I know exactly what results I can get from every dollar that is invested in my home and family. I am not motivated by a certificate. I am motivated by what helps my family directly. Sometimes it takes a health issue to remind me, but it’s still there.

I understand that some people appreciate other forms of recognition better than other forms that I personally might like. We are all different after all. We have different personalities and we have different motivators in our life, whether at work or home.

In order for us to work best with the people that are in our lives, we need to understand that an effective corporate incentive program needs to consider the individual instead of blanketly applying some type of reward or appraisal to all. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind for this process.

1. Know the Reasons To Give

This is where the company needs to focus on the reasons that it’s giving any type of award or reward. Everything that a company can do directly for an employee, especially in front of their team and other coworkers, is an external motivator. This may not be the best approach for everyone, as there are some people like myself, that have a gigantic internal motivation factor.

I’m a self-starter able to get stuff done and to continue on that path without any other input, if I don’t seek them out. A lot of people are like this. A lot of people aren’t. The company needs to consider those reasons before it blanketly applies any approach and makes it the norm. Or else.

2. Why Most Incentive Programs Fail

Forget behaviorism – it’s use is very situational. There are much better options.

Most incentive programs in modern day corporate structures fail because they focus too much on the psychological theory of behaviorism (yes, I am not a big BF Skinner fan). They looked to stimulate and influence action from an external source. They look to give a rat cheese to run a certain path in the maze.

However, this only works at first until the human, who is much smarter than any corporate structural process, realizes that “hey, this just isn’t working anymore” and then they choose to go their own route. The motivation needs to come from inside or the outside fades away eventually. Internal motivation keeps the outside fresh.

3. What Should Be Done Instead

The company should take an honest and effective approach to serving every employee in their company on what motivates them and what they expect when they do something that deserves any type of recognition. By getting this information and then setting up a specific recognition program tailored to each person’s interests and motivators, the output will be much more effective than any other approach available.

Realign Incentives with a Program that Works

For a corporate incentive program to work, folks need to consider the reasons to give, the reasons most of these programs fail, and what should be done for the future. We’ve got to tailor this recognition process to the individual. Why don’t you talk with your boss now, or maybe at the next performance appraisal, and plan what motivators work best for you? (or take the free quiz)