Are You Short-Circuiting Your Reward and Recognition Efforts?

There is a point of view called "principle of least effort" which states that in most cases people will choose the path of least effort - or least resistance. I've watched this principle in action many, many times with my own teenagers who will try to do the least amount of work in order to satisfy the level of chore completion required for Friday and Saturday night activities.

But there is a problem with the path of least resistance - while it makes sense - (why waste the energy if you don't have to) - it comes with a perilous potential outcome.

Think in terms of electricity - it too follows the path of least resistance. However, if that path of least resistance approaches "zero" resistance - you have a short circuit. Any of us who have mistakenly wired an outlet incorrectly know the outcome of a circuit that has no resistance - Poof! Smoke, black fingers, accelerated heart rate, and embarrassment.

This same affect occurs when people try to short circuit the process for designing quality incentive and reward programs. Too often the "easy way out" gets you a small explosion - either in budget, employee morale, distributor loyalty - you name it - a short is a short and the outcomes are never good.

Some of the ways management will short circuit their programs...

Let's use the program I read about on the web for Company ABC. Heck, it shouldn't matter that the program was designed for a specific company, audience, objective, environment. They got a 20% lift with the program - we should too.

We don't need to communicate the objectives, the goal, ongoing performance, suggestions for success - the awards will be enough to keep the audience focused.

Our budget won't let us reward everyone who excels so we'll just award the top 1% - they're the only ones that matter anyway.

Let's just divide the budget by the number of people in the program - that'll be the award amount - regardless of what they have to do to get that award.

They want cash... give'm cash.

The newest thing is iPods... let's give'm all an iPods.

Do you see yourself in any of these conversations? Have you had them with other managers in your company? If so, you're on your way to a potential short circuit.

There is no path of least resistance when you're planning and designing a program to influence behavior. Your business is complicated, the market place is complicated, people are complicated - in other words - why would a short circuit design work? Too many variables.

Take the time and do it right. Analyze, synthesize, plan, discuss, test, research. Don't just do the easy thing.