| In any labor market, companies compete to | | | | increase revenue. |
| find and keep the best employees, using pay, | | | | |
| benefits, promotions, and training. But these | | | | 2. Can be done by paper, email, or via the |
| well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. | | | | company's intranet. Intranet is recommended, |
| The front-line manager is the key to | | | | as it provides a documentation of the person |
| attracting and retaining talented employees. | | | | and time the idea is submitted, eliminating |
| No matter how generous the pay or how | | | | potential conflicts. |
| renowned the training, employee survey | | | | |
| research shows the company that lacks great | | | | 3. All ideas will be evaluated. |
| front-line managers will suffer. | | | | |
| | | | 4. There will be no limit to the number of |
| The best managers select an employee for | | | | ideas selected for merit. |
| talent rather than for skills or experience, | | | | |
| setting expectations for him or her, defining | | | | 5. An idea is selected for merit if, in |
| the right outcomes rather than the right | | | | management's sole opinion, it should be |
| steps. The best managers motivate people, | | | | implemented. |
| building on each person's unique strengths | | | | |
| rather than trying to fix their weaknesses. | | | | 6. All employees who submit ideas of merit |
| And, great managers develop people, finding | | | | that are implemented will receive |
| the right fit for each person, not | | | | company-wide recognition and a bonus related |
| necessarily the next rung on the ladder. | | | | to the financial impact of the idea on the |
| | | | company. |
| Essential to this process is the employment | | | | |
| of an appropriate measuring stick, which | | | | Again, based on their employee survey data, |
| successfully links customer data with | | | | several strategies were recommended, but this |
| employee productivity, customer loyalty, and | | | | strategy alone accomplished several goals. |
| profitability. | | | | First, the root cause was addressed by |
| | | | encouraging feedback and upward communication |
| Given the importance of the front-line | | | | across the entire organization. Secondly, |
| managers, any effective employee incentive | | | | this strategy became the cornerstone of a |
| program must begin with incentives specific | | | | recognition program that, while open to all, |
| to the supervisor level. Clearly, the factors | | | | is awarded only to those who earn it. And |
| that motivate supervisors are often different | | | | thirdly, the company's investment in the |
| from the factors that motivate the general | | | | program - the bonus - is derived from |
| employee population. Through the root cause | | | | additional monies that the program itself |
| analyses, underlying psychological factors | | | | generates. |
| that motivate supervisors within a particular | | | | |
| business environment are identified, and | | | | In support of, and perhaps even more |
| appropriate incentives are designed to | | | | important than the total employee population |
| address those factors. NBRI employee survey | | | | strategy above, a secondary strategy was |
| research has shown that these factors may be | | | | implemented for supervisors only. Prestige |
| related to one or more of the following | | | | and recognition is afforded to those |
| categories: | | | | supervisors who encourage and develop their |
| | | | employees to 'think like management thinks,' |
| · Career advancement | | | | in concert with the Great Ideas Program. This |
| | | | takes time, patience, and respect for all |
| · Money | | | | ideas on the part of the supervisors, to |
| | | | discuss the ideas submitted by their |
| · Prestige | | | | subordinates in order to train them in seeing |
| | | | the company-wide implications of their ideas. |
| · Public recognition | | | | These supervisors, and ultimately, the |
| | | | employees reporting to them, have also |
| It is not always the case, then, that | | | | attained career advancement, as they have |
| employee incentives, particularly at the | | | | since demonstrated their ability to translate |
| supervisor level, require extraordinary | | | | the critical perceptions and attitudes of |
| expenditures by management in order to | | | | management into everyday behaviors of |
| increase employee performance. While most | | | | subordinates at all levels of the |
| employee incentive programs include a | | | | organization. |
| combination of the categories above, NBRI | | | | |
| research has clearly shown that recognition, | | | | This client is in its fifth year with NBRI, |
| above all, is the most powerful motivator. | | | | and has moved from a poor performer to near |
| | | | best in class. |
| A major Healthcare Provider was faced with | | | | |
| low employee morale, high turnover, and | | | | In summary, most organizations immediately |
| interdepartmental power struggles when they | | | | think of tangible items in relation to |
| turned to NBRI for assistance. A standard | | | | employee incentive programs for increasing |
| NBRI employee survey instrument was deployed, | | | | employee performance. Prizes, trips, money, |
| the data collected, and the root cause | | | | and other tangible rewards can certainly play |
| analyses conducted. Weaknesses (defined as | | | | a part in an effective employee incentive |
| normative scores below the National Average) | | | | program, and recognition, alone, can often be |
| included below average employee perceptions | | | | seen as nothing more than hollow words. |
| of compensation, communications, equipment, | | | | However, by conducting employee surveys, NBRI |
| teamwork, and overall employee performance. | | | | research has proven that it is often the case |
| Management could easily spend several years | | | | that the incentive most motivating to |
| and huge sums of money to address each of | | | | employees or supervisors is primarily |
| these weaknesses, one at a time. However, the | | | | psychological in nature, and whether it stems |
| root cause analyses identified "My supervisor | | | | from a desire to play a greater role in the |
| appreciates my input" as the primary, | | | | future development of the enterprise (as |
| underlying psychological factor affecting the | | | | above), or a desire to improve one's |
| employee population, which if corrected, | | | | work-life balance, or a desire to see |
| would increase scores in over 60% of the | | | | policies executed with fairness throughout |
| issues addressed by the employee survey. NBRI | | | | the organization, and so forth, it is of |
| proposed several corrective actions, one of | | | | utmost importance for employers to first |
| which was the following: | | | | identify the motivational factors that will |
| | | | work best with their human resources, through |
| Strategy: "Great Ideas" Program | | | | valid research, and then leverage that |
| | | | information by applying interventions - |
| 1. Employees submit ideas on how to make the | | | | employee incentive programs - that strike |
| company more efficient, cut costs, or | | | | strategically at that root cause. |