SEATTLE ñ Motivating employees has always been a high level concern for managers. As such, recognition and rewards often takes on mythical status in value for managers to improve employee productivity and increase retention. A U.S. Department of Labor study indicates 64 percent of working Americans quit their jobs because they feel unappreciated, and Gallup research estimates that seven-tenths of Americans complain about no recognition or praise at work.
Yet Rick Tate, senior managing partner for Impact Achievement Group Inc., a leading performance management and leadership development firm, cautions that (1) managers often take a leap of logic that more recognition and rewards will improve productivity and increase retention and (2) managers make profound mistakes in how they approach employee motivation by taking the easy route through extrinsic reward and recognition programs.
Research indicates that there are many more factors to consider regarding employee motivation, which when missing, erode the impact of recognition and rewards. In their book, ìPeople Leave Managers, Not Organizationsî Tate and Dr. Julie White expose many motivational myths and ineffective morale boosting methods traditionally thought to improve employee performance.
Impact Achievement Group has made Chapter 2, titled ìMotivation at Workî, available as a free download from:
Morale is Not Necessarily the Road to Improved Productivity
Employee performance a more complex issue than merely relying on recognition and rewards, says Impact Achievement Group
