Rewarding Employees To Improve Performance
Here’s a take on the use of rewards in the workplace.
First, with rewards like this, staff will habituate, so you may get an initial increase in performance, which will fall off rapidly. Or, a bigger problem may arise.
Second, while I can hardly stand Alfie Kohn’s work, the one thing that stands out and I believe is robust and accurate is that the outcomes of reward depend on the PERCEPTIONS of the recipients. IF the rewards
are perceived as manipulative to squeeze out more, negative things happen. This scheme sounds like it could very well be perceived that way.
Third, one is better off, generally, with low value rewards, to make the reward process a fun thing, without offering monetary value. For example, awarding a mug of excellence to be used for a week.
And always always, to reiterate what some have said, never ever assume that ANY reward will have equal value to everyone. Even pointing out someone’s good work at a staff meeting can be positive to one, meaningless to another, and negatively embarrassing to a third.