Why Non-cash Rewards?

By Paul Reed, Director,
Performance Improvement Systems, HG WORLDWIDE


Human behavior is a part of everything we do. We all have our own way of doing things and we become so comfortable with our behavioral patterns, they eventually become our natural inclination.

Morris Massey, in his well-known book, The People Puzzle, suggests we have been programmed since birth with values and attitudes. This programming tells our brain what is good or bad; normal or abnormal; right or wrong. We learn more about this programming as we age and we tend to pattern the behavior of people we admire. It isn’t uncommon to embrace values and attitudes similar to those of our parents unless we find significant others who have a more profound effect on us. Natural inclination affects the way we brush our teeth, how we get dressed in the morning, and whether we wash dishes immediately or leave them in the sink overnight. Our natural inclination toward anything can be altered through developmental learning and self-growth programs but behavioral tendencies are not easy to extinguish or modify.

Behavioral specialists have learned much regarding rewards and recognition as a means to modify behavior and it has become a part of many corporate strategies to improve or stimulate performance. Corporate strategists are rapidly learning to keep recognition and reward programs simple and consistent. When the path to reward and recognition is clearly explained and the tools to reach the R & R freely given, participants who are motivated by the program can achieve the goals and rewards inherent to the activity. Others, less competent or less motivated, can also quickly learn the values being rewarded.

It is very important not to blur the distinction between recognition and compensation. We are compensated for doing the work of the job for which we were hired; but we are recognized for reaching extended goals or patterns of work improvement which are valued by the companies for whom we labor. It is quite easy for people to begin associating cash incentives or recognition as extensions of their compensation package and when this happens, removing the cash recognition at the conclusion of a program can be seen as a pay cut! It is for this reason that we always recommend the use of non-cash rewards and recognition when asking people to work above and beyond what ordinary employees are achieving.

Effective motivational programming is a form of operant conditioning. Participants will do something specific to earn a positive reinforcement. Eventually, we can begin shaping their behavior by gradually raising the bar. People quickly learn to repeat a behavior they find pleasant or one that gives them something they want in return. The secret to success is creating a performance improvement strategy perceived as being fair, easy to understand, and having attainable goals.

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