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