Some employers reward members of staff for their exceptional contributions to the company by giving them extra money. This practice can act as an incentive for some but may also have a negative impact on others. To what extent is this style of management effective? Are there better ways of encouraging employees to work hard?
In times of high unemployment, employers need to do very little to encourage their staff to work hard, but when job vacancies are scarced, they have to find effective ways of rewarding their staff to stop them from going elsewhere.
One obvious way of doing this is to offer extra money to employees who are seen to be working exceptionally hard and this is done in companies with a product to sell. For example, real estate agents or department stores can offer a simple commission on all sales.
This style of management favors people who can demonstrate their contribution through sales figures, but does not take into account the work done by people behind the scenes who little contact with the public. A better approach is for management to offer a bonus to all the staff at the end of year if the profits are healthy. This, however, does not allow management to target individuals who have genuinely worked harder than others.
Another possibility is to identify excellent staff through incentive schemes such as ‘Employee of the Month’ or ‘Worker of the Week’ to make people feel recognized. Such people are usually singled out with the help of clients. Hotels, restaurants and tour operators may also allow staff to accept tips offered by clients who are pleased with the service. However, tipping is a highly unreliable source of money and does not favor everyone.
Basically, employees want to be recognized for their contribution - whether through receiving more money or simply some encouraging words. They also need to feel that their contribution to the whole organization is worthwhile. Good management recognizes this need and responds appropriately.
