Using Intrinsic Rewards To Motivate Employees

Using Intrinsic Rewards to Motivate Employees
We have discussed motivating employees through job design and by the extrinsic rewards of pay and
benefits. On an organizational level, are those the only ways to motivate employees? Not at all! We
would be remiss if we overlooked intrinsic rewards organizations can provide, such as employee
recognition programs,discussed next. employee Recognition Programs Laura makes $8.50 per hour
working at her fast-food job in Pensacola, Florida, and the job isn’t very challenging or interesting. Yet
Laura talks enthusiastically about the job, her boss, and the company that employs her. “What I like is
the fact that Guy [her supervisor] appreciates the effort I make. He compliments me regularly in front of
the other people on my shift, and I’ve been chosen Employee of the Month twice in the past six months.
Did you see my picture on that plaque on the wall?” Organizations are increasingly realizing what Laura
knows: Recognition programs and other ways of increasing an employee’s intrinsic motivation work. An
employee recognition program is a plan to encourage specific behaviors by formally appreciating specific
employee contributions. Employee recognition programs range from a spontaneous and private thank-
you to widely publicized formal programs in which the procedures for attaining recognition are clearly
identified.
As companies and government organizations face tighter budgets, nonfinancial incentives become more
attractive. Everett Clinic in Washington State uses a combination of local and centralized initiatives to
encourage managers to recognize employees.Employees and managers give “Hero Grams” and “Caught
in the Act” cards to colleagues for exceptional accomplishments at work. Part of the incentive is simply
to receive recognition, but there are also drawings for prizes based on the number of cards a person
receives. Multinational corporations like Symantec Corporation, Intuit, and Panduit have also increased
their use of recognition programs. Symantec claims it increased engagement 14 percent in less than a
year due to the Applause recognition program administered by Globoforce, a corporation that
implements employee recognition programs. Centralized programs across multiple offices in different
countries can help ensure that all employees, regardless of where they work, can be recognized for their
contribution to the work environment. Recognition programs are common in Canadian and Australian
firms as well. A few years ago, 1,500 employees were surveyed in a variety of work settings to find out
what they considered the most powerful workplace motivator. Their response? Recognition,
recognition, and more recognition. Identify the motivational benefits of intrinsic rewards. employee
recognition program A plan to encourage specific employee behaviors by formally appreciating specific
employee contributions. suggests financial incentives may be more motivating in the short term, but in
the long run nonfinancial incentives work best. Surprisingly, there is not a lot of research on the
motivational outcomes or global usage of employee recognition programs. However, recent studies
indicate that employee recognition programs are associated with self-esteem, self-efficacy, and job
satisfaction, and the broader outcomes from intrinsic motivation are well documented. An obvious
advantage of recognition programs is that they are inexpensive: praise is free! With or without financial
rewards, they can be highly motivating to employees. Despite the increased popularity of such
programs, though, critics argue they are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management.
When applied to jobs for which performance factors are relatively objective, such as sales, recognition
programs are likely to be perceived by employees as fair. In most jobs, however, performance criteria
aren’t self-evident, which allows managers to manipulate the system and recognize their favorites.
Abuse can undermine the value of recognition programs and demoralize employees. Therefore, where
formal recognition programs are used, care must be taken to ensure fairness. Where they are not, it is
important to motivate employees by consistently recognizing their performance efforts.

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