We Want Cash – The Commentators Respond

Last week – the 17^th to be exact, I posted on the idea of extending the “trophy value” of an award and connecting that to communications from the company and potentially the executives in the company.  In other words, reminding people what they had redeemed for as way to remind people of the award the company provided in their incentive programs.

The responses were… shall I say… pointed.

And… off point.

So much so it’s worthy of posting a longer response to the general sentiment of the comment threads.

The general sentiment was…

GIVE ME CASH AND GET OUT OF MY WAY AND I’LL PERFORM!

Almost to a person in the comment stream the “consensus” was that cash is a better option because that is what motivates them.  Even though the post had nothing to do with cash compensation – again it was about how to communicate with people AFTER they had earned a non-cash award.  It was not about whether non-cash awards were a good idea.

But the jury is in – according to my sample commentators – cash is good – non-cash rewards and recognition items are bad.

Except they are wrong.  Each and every one of them is incorrect.

What they say and what really happens in real life are two very different things.

The Facts are…

Incentives with non-cash perform better than cash by a wide margin.  In 1992, WorldatWork, in conjunction with the White House Conference on Productivity conducted an extensive research study with more than 8 million employees in 1,600 organizations showing $3 in cash was required to affect the same result as $1 in noncash awards.

People are more influenced when using non-cash award and when cash is brought into the equation performance actually goes down.  Research conducted by Dr. Ariely in India offered 1-day’s pay, 2-weeks’ pay and 5-months’ pay as incentives for completing 6 tasks – some cognitive, some more mechanical.  The results showed little difference in the 1 day and 2-weeks’ pay scenario – but a much lower performance score for those in the 5-months’ pay scenario.  So – the incentive didn’t work AT ALL.  So much for “I’ll work harder if you pay me more.”

What They Want VS What Works

If I had asked the question – what do you want as an incentive – cash would win – hands down.  Don’t even need to do the survey.  Trust me on this one.  

It only makes sense.  We’re taught from an early age that cash is good.  We use it as a yardstick in our neighborhoods to determine who is better than whom.  Luxury brands do a great job of advertising the exorbitant prices of their products so that the public will find them more valuable than the content of the product would dictate and we get approving looks from strangers “He/She must be doing well – making FU money I guess.”  Our self esteem is tied to income and we want more of it!

But we’re not asking what people want.

If you have kids – ask them if they want ice cream for breakfast – see what the answer is.  Is it the right thing?  Would you do it?

Sorry Folks – It’s Not About You

See, we’re talking about what a COMPANY is willing to spend to get a change in behavior or to reinforce the company mission and values.  And the facts say that non-cash is a better option FOR THE COMPANY (who, by the way is PAYING FOR IT) than just throwing more dollars in the weekly pay envelop.

Cash creates transactional relationships between the company and the employee.  The company doesn’t want that.  And in a roundabout way- employees don’t want it either.  Do they really want to go home and say they only work for the company because they throw obscene amounts of cash at them?  Really?  We have a word for those kinds of people – and it’s not one I like to use on my PG-13 blog.

I think we’ve all seen a few people quit their jobs with high pay to do something for someone who appreciates them outside the W2.  Many in fact.  It’s not just about the pay anymore.

The fact is that reward programs – for good or bad – are about what the COMPANY is willing to spend – not what the employee THINKS will make a difference.

Each and every one of the commentators who said that cash is the right answer will change their mind some day when they are responsible for motivating and engaging their employees.

Every.Single.One.Of.Them.

Trust me – you don’t want to be the company that relies on cash as the only lever in the relationship.  You don’t do it with your family, close friends, even trusted business partners (do you give gifts/cards at Christmas and New Years to your clients?  Why not just send them a saw buck instead – hey – cash is best right?)

The bottom line is that most people think they are like other people.  They think they think the same as “most people.”  And they are so wrong psychologists even have a name for it…

The False Consensus Effect – a cognitive bias whereby a person tends to overestimate how much other people agree with him or her.  People assume that their own opinions, beliefs, and preferences are ‘normal’ and that others also think the same way that they do. This cognitive bias tends to lead to the perception of a consensus that does not exist, a ‘false consensus’. This false consensus is significant because it increases self-esteem. The need to be “normal” and fit in with other people is underlined by a desire to conform and be liked by others in a social environment. 

Because these folks think they speak for everyone – and they want cash – therefore everyone wants cash.

It’s not true and the evidence doesn’t support it.

It Will Never Be My Choice

The bottom line is this…Even if cash did work better than non-cash – as a business owner – I STILL wouldn’t use it. 

I don’t want mercenaries in my organization.  Mercenaries have a habit of upping the price.  Why would I build an organization that ultimately I’ll be held hostage by?

I want an organization that people want to work for because we do good stuff, the right way for good clients.  Not solely because of what’s in their paycheck.

This ought to get some comments no?

Related articles

• Following Up on Award Choices – The Award Stalker (i2i-align.com)
• Tangible Awards Vs Cash – Again! (i2i-align.com)