Page 62 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Reward and Recognition Programs Don’t Work

Reason 16: Everybody’s a Winner

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the DoDo announced:
“Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.” Sometimes orga-
nizations create reward programs in which the bar is set so low
that nearly everyone wins. Such programs fail to distinguish pro-
ductive, hardworking employees from those who just show up,
which results in reducing the morale of the best employees, who
feel that the program devalues their efforts. The message is: “Any
level of performance is great!” Review the criteria of any current
programs and make sure that the bar is set appropriately.

Reason 17: Programs Are Manipulative
Some employees view motivation programs for what they are—
manipulation. In fact, your best employees are those most likely
to be offended by such programs. Just as some supervisors say,
“Why should I recognize employees for doing their job?” some
employees will say, “I don’t need some award to tell me that I’ve
done a good job.” Such people take pride in their job and work
ethic and feel babied by getting acknowledged for doing what
they get paid to do. Top performers also recognize that these
programs are often intended to motivate those who are not
working hard and are often frustrated that resources are being
spent on their underperforming team members. If you want to
motivate your top performers, hold those who are not doing
their job accountable.

Reason 18: Program Architects Are Generally
Not Experts
Human resources managers and associates, the primary archi-
tects of these programs, are, quite frankly, rarely qualified to
create them. Having taken a few psychology classes in college
does not make one an expert in the theories of motivation and