Hi Kirsten,

I find the biggest mistake that many organsiations/businesses/companies make with this question is not doing one very simple thing.

Ask!

Ask your employees. Not every employee will find the same 'reward' reinforcing. By definition if it's not reinforcing then it's not rewarding.

People do what they do (behaviour) for one of or a combination of four consequences:

•Social attention

•Tangible reward

•Self stimulation

•Escape from demand.

Understand what it is that they want more of and you will get more from them because it is rewarding and reinforcing.

There is nothing worse than having an incentive and reward program that simply doesn't!

If you would like to chat some more on this let me know.

Cheers

Greg

I totally agree with Greg but would like to add that everyone deserves recognition for a job well done. Consider the individual before deciding how to display that recognition.

• Do they enjoy public recognition?
• Would they prefer to get more personal handwritten "thank you" note?

Types of rewards that can work when properly aligned:

• Additional vacation time (could be an extra day, or week)
• Loyalty bonus (specific dollar amount for milestone years of service)
• Flexible Work Hours or Location (let them work around their life schedule when and where they are comfortable)
• Paid Experience (could be going to an industry conference, or just a fun adventure)
• Additional Education / Training (put up money toward a degree, class or certification)
• Promotion (could be pay raise or just a new title to reflect their effort)