Rewards
In all
organizations it is important to reward achievement, creativity, innovation
and dedication.
The reward,
as recognition of good work, has 3 functions:
Acknowledgment:
if someone has carried out an outstanding job, it is fair to reward
them.
Example:
the reward shows the rest of the staff that this is what the management
expect from them, and the work levels the management consider excellent.
Motivation:
the employees will try and give their best with the aim of reaching
this reward.
So that
the reward fulfils these functions it should be:
Fair:
the leader should reward the people that really deserve it. The employees
have to see that it is granted in an objective way, that there isn’t
any favouritism.
If the
leader rewards people that don’t deserve the reward, he will
loose his value and generate confusion. The employees will not know
what behaviour is required to obtain it.
Besides,
the leader has to avoid comparative disagreements: his concession
and the amount should be adjusted to the main objective.
Transparent:
the prize should not only be fair but should also be given so that
nobody doubts its justice (the management should communicate the motives
of the award).
Immediate:
the reward should be given as soon as it is deserved, once the prized
action has taken place. Rewards need to be given immediately not when
everyone has forgotten about the good work.
The employees
have to see how the management deliver the rewards quickly, just as
they themselves demand things quickly.
Generous:
the reward should be sufficiently attractive (so that the employees
believe that it is worth fighting for.
The management
can not be stingy when giving the reward, as this will generate disenchantment
(“very demanding when asking for things, but not very generous
when rewarding”).
Public:
so that the reward fulfils its function, it is necessary to let the
employees know what the prizes are and what the motives are.
People
need to know what to do in order to achieve them.
Finally,
point out that the prize should be administered with restraint.
If the
rewards are handed out frequently they will turn into something routing
and they will loose their value. A reward has to be something exceptional.
