Designing Rewards, Recognition and Incentive Programs - Where to Start

The past few weeks I've had a thread of a thought that has run through all of the work I'm doing with companies around their reward, influence, incentive and recognition initiatives.  And that thread is this...

Most companies start at the end instead of at the beginning when thinking about how they will influence, engage, motivate and recognize their employees and other business partners.

Here's the problem...

From a time and money standpoint - focusing on your employees, or other larger audiences first, is the least efficient, least effective and most expensive way to drive behaviors focused on your goals and objectives.  Starting at the top of your hierarchy when putting your strategy in place will yield greater results and reduce your costs over the long-term.

Here's why...

 

Go Big Or Go Home is a Bad Strategy

Most companies start their discussions about incentives and recognition at the bottom of the curve.  It seems to be human nature to think that targeting the largest group of employees (or channel partners, or consumers) is the best way to get to your goals.  I don't know if targeting large audiences it is a dot-com hangover where we thought that getting big numbers was the holy grail of business but in the networked and connected world we live in now - getting the right group engaged is more important than getting the big group engaged.  And for companies that want engaged employees the right group is your company's senior leadership (and I mean senior -the board, CEO, COO, etc.)

Not only can you spend more time and more money per person at that level (but with less overall cost in time and $), the effects of their engagement will roll down the curve and hit all the other employees.  When your top levels are doing the right things - the investment in time and money on programs and interventions with the larger audience can be less because you've got their bosses and their bosses bosses reinforcing those programs... call it a forced multiplier if you will.

It's Not About Rewards at the Top

Don't think you should create reward programs for your senior staff.  In most cases it's a matter of training and follow up.  It seems that most top managers think they know it all and don't need the help - and most HR departments are a bit afraid of telling senior leadership they have some studying to do.  After all, they wouldn't be top managers if they didn't know how to engage their staff would they? (Read that last sentence aloud in your most sarcastic voice to get my true meaning.)

The Thread

The thread that I mentioned at the start of this post is this - spend more time with your management team making sure they understand what their staffs want and need to be engaged before you start spending a lot of time and money on your entire employee audience.  The only people who win when you start with your largest audience is the incentive company who gets paid for all the awards, communication and administration needed to run those big programs.

Please - start at the top and work your way down.  I know it sounds counter-intuitive - but your best foundation for engaging your audience can only be built at the top of the structure.

 

Comments

[Sean and Joe]

I agree with your basic logic, however, do you think there is a problem with the fact that most employees in the bottom of the curb believe (right or wrong) that there is an abundance of rewards divvied out that the top already? There is a general feeling that only the *&^% rolls down, and not the motivation. Seeing more rewarding going on at the top might actually disenfranchise and alienate the bottom even more, actually reversing your goal. Do you get more bang for the perceptive buck, by making the masses feel good, therefore lifting moral, etc.?

Training at the top? Yes, but that training should include how to effectively communicate, influence, and motivate down the hill.

[Paul Hebert]

I specifically state - training is the key - not a reward program. You are on point - the issue isn't rewards for the top folks - but training on how to do "recognition and rewards" so that the programs you do run for the rank and file have more impact. I'm suggesting that instead of #(**( rolling downhill - we make appreciation and attention roll downhill.

Thanks Sean/Joe - appreciate you checking in.