Rewarding and Motivation

Interesting article especially as rewarding and motivation was a topic close to my heart during my HR years. My understanding o the article is that to achieve the desired business objectives and high productivity, or to influence certain behaviors in the workplace such as teamwork and professionalism an adequate rewarding system must be in place. Although financial reward is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of rewarding employees, it is not the only type and in some cases may not be the best one to use. Furthermore, if it is not carefully designed it can trigger undesirable outcomes. It is worth pointing out that the definition of rewarding is different from one person to another and from one culture to another. Therefore, it is crucial for multinational organizations to appreciate the differences between cultures and design their motivation tools to accommodate them.
From an individual perspective:
I believe that we have been trained to look for rewards and be inspired by them since childhood. For example, many of us have heard parents saying to their children “if you behave, I will give you a chocolate bar”. So it is normal to look for the reward in every deed whether in our business or personal life. In addition to the sense of self-satisfaction that recognition normally brings, it also has plays a strong role in encouraging and motivating staff to deliver more. It is an addictive type of behavior. Therefore, in order for businesses to make the most out of their reward systems, recognition needs to be given only for high performance and delivery above and beyond standard expectations.
From a Team Perspective:
Team reward and recognition tools should be tailored in a way to guarantee fair practice among team members and prevent “free riders” from taking advantage by relying on other colleagues to deliver the work. The Reward Mix referred to in the article represents the best possible solution as long as it is managed in a transparent way.
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