Page 58 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Reward and Recognition Programs Don’t Work

reward and recognition programs, understanding the reinforce-
ment schedules makes a big difference. Here is just one exam-
ple. Fred had recently become the plant manager at a company
where I did some consulting, and he very much wanted every
employee to know the company mission statement by heart. He
had big posters containing the mission statement plastered all
over the plant and had wallet-sized laminated cards made for all
employees, but they still didn’t seem to get it. I had him call an
“all-hands” meeting and announce the following: “Over the next
month, I will be walking around the plant and randomly asking
employees to recite the mission statement. If you get it correct,
I will present you with five envelopes. Inside each envelope will
be a cash amount: $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100. You get to pick the
envelope and keep whatever is inside.” Needless to say, everyone
knew the mission statement by the end of the month.
I know it sounds like this was a successful program—and it
was in the sense that it met the plant manager’s expectations—
but there are two fatal flaws. First, as soon as the program ends,
people will inevitably start forgetting the statement, and within
a few months most won’t remember it. That’s because programs
work only while the reinforcer is available. Second, and more
important, memorizing a mission statement is far different from
living it. Getting employees to commit words to memory is a
good first step. However, to have any real meaning, it needs to
be followed up by a program reinforcing employee behavior con-
sistent with the mission statement. Of course, such a program
would suffer from many of the problems we have identified and
will continue to identify. Putting aside the mission statement
example, the key takeaway is simply that most reward and rec-
ognition programs are designed with the weakest possible rein-
forcement schedule and the one most susceptible to extinction.