Rewarding and Motivating Employees on Next to Nothing
by Jean V. Dickson, JVD Creativity Consulting

I hear a lot about motivating employees, but I don't have a lot of extra money. How can I do it on a shoestring?

If you are like me, you’ve purchased and read books purporting to have great, innovative ideas for rewarding and motivating employees. And, if you’re like me, you’ve been disappointed in these ideas. All too often I’ve found myself sarcastically saying, “Yeah, like that’s a really innovative reward.” Or else I’ve said, “Well, that certainly wouldn’t thrill me!”

Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t think I’m particularly hard to please. But I’ve been around. I’ve seen my share of workplaces. And I’ve found that when it comes to motivating and rewarding employees, most companies don’t have a clue how to do it.

If only they would discover the BE-attitudes – be fun, be interested, be fair and … well, I’ll let you find out the last BE-attitude for yourself.

Be Fun
One man that is internationally recognized for effective employee motivation is Martin Chaisson of Xerox. Many years ago, I was at a seminar where Mr. Chaisson was the guest speaker. He gave one example after another of how he motivated staff – and how he did it without breaking the bank! One thing he repeatedly emphasized was that you have to make the workplace fun – especially when the work is either monotonous or stressful! He stated that managers and business owners need to be constantly on the lookout for fun ways to liven up the workplace because fun is always around, but too often we are so busy with our thoughts that we go right by it and don’t even see it.

Mr. Chaisson gave an example that I’ve never forgotten. Driving to the office one day during the middle of a particularly long summer heat spell, he heard the telltale “ring-ring” of an ice-cream bike. Martin slammed on his brakes and called the fellow over. He then gave the fellow some money and made arrangements for him to show up at the office the next day.

Knowing that surprise plays a large part in having fun, Mr. Chaisson didn’t tell anyone what was going to happen. The next afternoon, the hot employees were complaining about the heat spell, not knowing that a few floors down, the ice cream man was positioning his bike within the elevator. When the elevator doors opened on the Xerox floor, the ice cream man rode into the Xerox office, ringing his bell, and calling, “Ice cream, get your ice cream – on the house ice cream!” Employees ran from all over, their faces showing the delight they felt. And when they found out they were getting Haagen Daas ice cream bars compliments of the boss, it made their day. Actually it made their week. Well, to tell you the truth it’s something they are still talking about and ice cream guy rode into Xerox more than five years ago. It was such a success, it is now an annual event!

It didn’t cost a lot. It didn’t take much time out of the workday. But it gave employees something to talk about and another reason to look forward to going to work instead of dreading it.

Be Interested
Martin Chaisson also knew how to motivate employees by using tools that didn’t cost the company a dime. He realized that one of the greatest gifts you can give an employee is to be interested in them as a person. He also knew that parents love it when you are interested in their kids. He would ask parents about their children, and then remember what they said. Later, if he was walking downtown and happened to remember that Sherry said her daughter, Mary, was taking swimming lessons at the Aquatic Center on Mondays, he would take five minutes to walk towards the Aquatic Center and have a look at how Mary’s swimming lessons were coming along. Later on, back at work, he would mention to Mary’s proud mom, “I was walking by and thought I would drop in and watch Mary’s swimming lessons for a minute. She’s really improving, isn’t she?”

What parent wouldn’t be impressed?

And what person wouldn’t work harder for someone who shows they value you by remembering the little things that matter to you?

Be Fair
One thing that employers constantly undervalue is fairness. Employees all over the world state that organizational fairness is one of the most important things in a workplace. This makes a lot of sense – after all, if you get a promotion but you know that such decisions aren’t made fairly by your boss, then your sense of accomplishment is diminished. And if you are the person who should have been promoted and wasn’t, then you’re going to be really upset and you’re going to think twice when the boss wants you to come in on your day off!

Dr. Daniel Skarlicki of the University of British Columbia states, "Past research has shown that a large number of Canadians feel they are mistreated by their managers…. When an employee perceives that they have been unfairly treated by an organization, they can have a reaction that varies from withdrawing at work or leaving, to more severe cases of sabotage or violence."

It’s too bad that more employers don’t read up on organizational research. If they did, they would find that a lot of workplace problems would disappear if the rules of organizational fairness were followed. There would be less theft, less resistance to change, less turnover, less unionization, and fewer demands for high pay....

Being fair is one of the least expensive and most effective ways to motivate your employees to higher productivity.

Be a Thief
That’s right! Be a thief – and create your own innovative ideas for incentives and rewards by stealing ideas from other industries and situations.

For example, Grauman’s Chinese Theater is where the stars of Hollywood for years have left their names, handprints and footprints in the sidewalk’s cement.

You can create your own organizational “walk of fame” similar to Hollywood’s. Several times a year, employees could contribute suggestions as to what co-worker should be recognized for achievement or teamwork. The employees would state the reason why they are putting forth the name of that co-worker.

After an employee is chosen, you arrange a celebration. Make an event out of having the employee putting their hand and footprints in the cement! These blocks can then be placed either in the walkway leading to the building or else framed in rough wood and hung on the wall (note the wall must be reinforced to hold the weight of the plaques).

In conclusion, just four short BE-attitudes can make a difference in your workplace. They can turn an employee who is just putting in time into an employee that stays late without complaining. Or an employee who is always complaining into an employee who can hardly wait to start a new project. Try them out – after all, it isn’t as if it’s costing you money. And when you do, you’ll be surprised with the difference these four small BE-attitudes make.

If you are interested in finding out more about Jean Dickson and how she can help your company, please check out her website.

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