Employee Engagement For Dummies

Chapter 17

You Win! Rewards and Recognition

In This Chapter

Understanding rewards

Recognizing employees

If you have a child — or, for that matter, a dog — you know that positive reinforcement is key. It's not enough to simply tell said child (or dog) how you want him to behave; you must also recognize his good behavior with a kind word and perhaps even reward him with, say, a treat. (Snausages, anyone?)

The same is true in business. It's not enough to simply communicate your business goals to your staff and measure their progress against them. You must also recognize and perhaps even reward them for achieving those goals.

This chapter discusses both rewards (which usually have a cost associated with them) and recognition (which is typically free or of minimal cost) as essential components of an effective engagement strategy.

The Rewards of Rewarding: Understanding Rewards

What do rewards have to do with engagement? In and of themselves, rewards don't foster engagement, but they do help foster achievement, which drives engagement.

So, what constitutes a reward? Try closing your eyes and thinking of the word reward. What comes to mind? If you're like me, you thought of a cartoon bag with dollar signs on it, Scrooge McDuck style. Or maybe you envisioned a “Wanted, Dead or Alive” ...