JULY 13

Be careful what you reward, because…

IT WILL BE REPEATED

Remember, rewards are effective only when they honor the right people for the right behaviors. Allow this type of recognition to become a popularity contest and all strategic benefits evaporate.

Here’s an example of a reward nearly gone wrong. The truly frightening part is, it really happened. (But we’ll change the names to protect the guilty.)

A vice president we know sat down with his CEO and a list of his customer service managers. The VP had ranked them from one to six. When asked what the ranking involved, he said, “Well, Susan’s number one. She gets the new business packets out in the fastest time. They are always very neat.”

“Who gets their packages out in the most creative, innovative manner, helping us win the most accounts?” the CEO asked.

He said, “Well, that would be Roger.”

Guess where Roger was on the ranking. Near the bottom. His stuff wasn’t so neat and on-time, but he closed like a demon.

If the CEO had approved the bonuses as-is, would they have rewarded the right thing? Of course not. What message would they have sent to Roger and his team? Work faster. Be neat. We don’t care about winning accounts. Ouch.

The moral? Be careful what you reward because it will be repeated.