Perks Incentive Blog

Welcome to Wally World. No, not the fictional amusement park of National Lampoon’s Vacation, but the fictional amusement park of the new business parable Reasons 2 Reward.

In Reasons 2 Reward we follow Max, the new park manager, as he attempts to revitalize the park by revitalizing the work environment.

I like business parables. They teach through storytelling and we often learn best through storytelling. This parable has numerous workplace lessons to teach, 28 highlighted points that range from provide feedback to create reward systems that people would aspire to achieve and be proud to receive. Overall, the book reinforces what managers can do to engage employees.

The story does have a couple of inconsistencies that are minor, but there is one point where,  from my perspective, manager Max really misses the mark in a significant way.

Here is the excerpt:

“Have you been recognizing your team in some way Barry?” Max asked.

“That’s for sissies. My men hate that sort of stuff, especially getting pointed out in front of all the other guys. They would rather die than be embarrassed like that.”

Barry is a master at sidestepping the question. Max asked if he was recognizing in some way. Barry responds that his ‘guys’ don’t like public recognition. It would have been a great place to acknowledge that not everyone wants recognition given publicly, that this preference is driven by both culture and personality, and is very real.

Max could have then offered options for recognizing the entire team and for giving private individual recognition, while insisting that Barry recognize his people in some way. Instead, Max responds:

“I think you would be surprised Barry. Everyone appreciates a thank you.”

Maybe I’m not reading it as it was intended, but this seems to imply that recognition has to be public and that everyone wants it this way. It seems Max thinks Barry would be surprised to learn that everyone likes public recognition, I know I would be surprised to learn this. I can personally think of dozens of examples where this was not true. Here a few from my experience:

• The company that posted employee of the month pictures in the front foyer and found that their predominantly Asian workforce started coming in the back entrance!
• The VP that became sullen when acknowledged in a management meeting but became animated when acknowledged one to one.
• The engineers who threatened to stop performing if they were recognized in the type of flashy ceremony loved by the sales team!

Public vs. private is a recognition preference. You can ignore the preference. You can choose not to recognize the preference. You can create a work culture where everyone receives public recognition and many people will love it. In some industries, most people will love it. Keep in mind though, that those that don’t love it will leave as soon as they have the opportunity.

Reasons 2 Reward - eighty pages of lessons and six sentences that make me feel the need to disagree, to start a discussion.

The thing about parables, they are open to interpretation, they get us talking and thinking. I imagine that every reader will find something in this book that provokes discussion and that is a good thing!

If you have heard me speak or followed my writing for a while you probably know that I am a strong believer in gauging the quality of your work environment. If we want companies that are great, engaging places to work we need to know what is effective and what is not.

Top Small Companies

The annual workplace awards offered by some of our top business magazines are a great way to  benchmark against other companies. One of these is Inc. Magazine.

Each year, Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces collaborate to recognize “Top Small Company Workplaces.” The recognized companies are selected for their corporate cultures that foster a productive work environment and satisfied employees.

They are now accepting applications for the 2011 Inc. list. To see if your company qualifies for the award please visit: https://tsw.winningworkplaces.org/ With the Inc.award, you begin by completing an application that looks at the aspects of your business that affect your work environment including things as diverse as: benefits, mission, and recognition programs. If you qualify as a finalist, your employees will also participate in a survey. All the information gathered from the application and survey is used to select the best companies.

Why do so many companies participate in these best/top competitions?

In addition to the information that helps them make their companies better, top scores bring positive publicity that attracts top performers, something that is critical to company success.

The winners of the Inc.Top Companies will be featured in the June 2011 issue of Inc. Magazine. In addition winners will be featured on Inc.’s and Winning Workplaces’ websites and will gain additional exposure through a nationally distributed press release.

Could your company be a Top Small Business?

An AP story on Wednesday revealed that the British government intends to start measuring well-being. The government is following suit on initiatives in Canada and France. The concept behind each is that well-being can’t be measured just by looking at financial factors.

Money isn’t everything.

You can’t buy happiness.

These sayings have been around a long, long time because they are true. Interesting how governments are just now paying attention.

Money only a provides small part of what determines how satisfied we are. Countries worry about GDP or gross domestic product. Employees think about the paycheck.

Business realized years ago that what employees really needed to be successful was a lot more broadly focused than compensation. Today most medium to large companies hold annual or biennial surveys to determine lots of “fuzzy metrics” that have been proven to affect the bottom-line. They ask about satisfaction with:

• the relationship with the supervisor,
• the level of trust and transparency with senior management,
• their understanding of how their jobs fit into the big picture,
• opportunities to grow and develop, and of course
• whether they feel they are valued by the organization.

Companies care because they know these fuzzy factors significantly affect engagement. They use the information from these surveys to change policies and behaviors.

Governments are beginning understand that there are similar factors that affect their citizens’ outlooks and their countries’ outcomes. It will be interesting to see what they do with the information.

What are your thoughts?

This week I spoke with someone who is in the process of developing an innovative award program. He had a few questions about ensuring that the program is meaningful for employees. For one, he wanted to know if awards that can be redeemed for whatever the recipient chooses were as valued as something that was preselected.

In other words, if the award is impersonal but usable how valued would it be?

My response was, basically, that impersonal but usable is better than unusable or unwanted. His question had reminded me of an experience that I had awhile back.

I had traveled to a speaking engagement. The client was paying me to be there, and I certainly didn’t need a gift in order to feel appreciated.

At the end of my presentation the person that had introduced me came back up on stage to publicly thank me and hand me a gift card. This ritual was repeated with each presenter.

When I got back to my room and looked at the card I discovered it was for a store I had never heard of. A quick Internet search showed that it was a regional store. It didn’t have an online presence, and I wasn’t going to be there long enough to pay the store a visit. For me, the card was unusable.

When I returned home I found a deserving recipient who could use the card, sent it to her, and forgot all about it,  until I got this question.

Is an award that can be redeemed for pretty much anything as valued as one that is preselected?

We know that a gift especially selected with us in mind is the ideal. Often though, this just isn’t possible. So, the question comes down to this:

Which is better?

1) An award that can be redeemed just about anywhere for anything - certainly impersonal - or

2) A random gift that may or may not be something the recipient wants or can use?

If you get lucky and get it right, option two is obviously better. Get it wrong and, while both are impersonal, one isn’t even usable.

What is the message inherent in each gift?

The first option, usable but impersonal, is actually quite neutral. The message presented with the gift will tilt the scale to the positive or the negative.  The second option, impersonal and unusable, sends a message beyond the presentation of the gift, and that is, “we really didn’t think about you and we don’t care what you want.”

In my example, I would have been left with a more positive impression with no gift than with a gift that didn’t take me into consideration at all.

When you are in a position where you need to provide the same award/gift to many people think about the following:

• What would they all value?
• Will the award/gift provide a memento of the event/accomplishment?
• What message will we provide along with the award?