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How to stoke your employees’ motivation for better performance

FIRE THEM UP

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Copyright © 2016 Daniel Lafrenière

All rights reserved.

Booklet design: Jonathan Richard

Editing and proofreading: Tracey-Lee Batsford

No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored in

or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,

in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior

permission of the author.

The information in this guide is distributed on an “as is”

basis without warranty. While every precaution have been

taken in the preparation of this book, the author shall have

no liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss

or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or

indirectly by the instructions contained in the booklet.

All product names, logos, and brands are property of their

respective owners.

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How to stoke your employees’ motivation for better performance

FIRE THEM UP

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EMPLOYEE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

managers’

main focus

what matters most

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INTRODUCTION

Have you ever heard of what Greatify calls the Employee Hierarchy of Needs?

Much like Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the Employee Hierarchy of Needs

details various levels of needs that employees must have in order to be fully

engaged at work.

According to a study published by Gallup

in 2014, nearly 70% of American workers

(84% in Canada) are either not engaged or

actively disengaged. The cost of these actively

disengaged employees in the US alone?

$450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity

per year. And this does not include the mounting

costs of employee turnover.

With such staggering numbers, we bet you’re

often worried about your team’s engagement

and its impact on performance, productivity and

team spirit.

Based on the latest research, this guide draws

a compelling picture of the link between

employee motivation and productivity, and

provides pragmatic, real-life solutions that you

can implement today.

The problem in today’s workplace is that many

managers focus on employees’ basic needs, which

are undoubtedly important. However, what matters

most — what makes employees truly engaged —

is often deemed as “nice to haves.”

In other words, disengagement occurs when

employees’ motivational, relational and self-ac-

tualization needs are not met. After all, what’s a

great salary and benefits when you have no clear

goals, your boss ignores you, and the team is just a

bunch of drones?

This is not without consequences.

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A study conducted by Interact demonstrated

that the lack of appreciation by managers is

employees’ number one complaint (63%).

Based on a study conducted by Bersin in

2012, the productivity of companies that have

employee recognition programs is 14% higher

than those that do not have any. The study

also found that organizations that offer efficient

recognition programs decrease their employee

turnover rates by 31%.

When managers recognize employees’ contribu-

tions, their engagement increases by 60%.

According to the study Workforce MOODTracker

2012 (653 respondents):

− 55% of workers said that they would quit their job

for another company that recognizes their efforts

and contribution.

− 47% of respondents indicated that lack of

recognition is the main reason why they would

leave their job.

SOME STAGGERING NUMBERS...

− 82% of respondents indicated that appreciation is

one of the key factors in improving their motivation.

− 78% of employees stated that they would work

harder if they had more recognition from their

employers.

41% of companies that encourage colleagues to

support one another experienced a significant

increase in customer satisfaction.

46% of upper management in large-scale

companies deem that incentive programs are an

investment and not an expense.

Companies that offer incentives and contests

experience a 28% decrease in employee

dissatisfaction vs other companies that do not

have such frameworks in place.

McLean & Company found that a disengaged

employee costs an organization approximately

$3,400 for every $10,000 in annual salary.

The Corporate Leadership Council studied the

engagement level of 50,000 employees around

To start, here are a few riveting statistics regarding employee

motivation/incentives in the workplace:

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the world to determine its direct impact on both

employee performance and retention. Here are

two important findings:

− Engaged companies grow profits as much as three

times faster than their competitors.

− Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to

leave the organization.

In research prepared for the UK government

(Engaging for Success: Enhancing performance

through employee engagement), David MacLeod

and Nita Clarke found the following correlations

to employee engagement:

− Companies with low engagement scores earn an

operating income 32.7% lower than companies

with more engaged employees.

− Similarly, companies with a highly engaged

workforce experience a 19.2% growth in operating

income over a 12-month period.

Organizations that formally acknowledge

employee contribution experience, on average,

a 14% increase in their financial results.

A 2008 study by the Shepell-fgi Research Group

which was conducted in contact centres across

Canada with over 10,000 participants found that:

− Each day, 10% of employees are absent.

− It costs over $6,000 to train an employee.

− 34% of employees say they are sick because

they don’t feel appreciated.

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All managers want productive employees in order

to ensure the long-term viability of their companies.

But what is productivity? Dictionaries define

productivity as “the rate between the output and

the means to achieve it.” Although it is technically

accurate, this definition is somewhat dated.

PRODUCTIVITY

After decades of research since the 1950s,

the firm Gallup came up with this equation to

properly define productivity:

Productivity = Talent × (Relationships + Right Expectations + Recognition/Rewards)

Let’s examine this equation a little more closely:

− TALENT. Above all else, people must have the

skills and knowledge to accomplish their work.

This stands to reason. Feeling competent is also a

fundamental psychological need.

− RELATIONSHIPS. The quality of an employee’s

relationships with his or her colleagues and

manager also counts for a lot. According to Chip

Conley, author of the highly successful book, Peak,

the relationships an employee fosters with his

or her peers and manager is the most important

variable — both for productivity and loyalty. In fact,

relationships are more important than salaries,

benefits or work environment.

− RIGHT EXPECTATIONS To be productive,

employees must know what is expected of them.

Expectations can be linked to behavior

(ex.: answering all of a client’s questions, even

though it may take more time) or specific goals

(ex.: assembling 10 bicycles a day). Naturally,

expectations should be realistic.

− RECOGNITION OR REWARDS. To be productive

and engaged at work, employees must receive

a certain amount of recognition or rewards from

either their immediate supervisors or peers.

Recognition must be based on objective facts

(numbers) and given on a regular basis. As the

authors of the Gallup study indicated: “Nobody will

ever complain of having too many congratulations

or too much encouragement at work.”

Teresa Amabile, from Harvard Business

School, and her colleague, Steven Kramer,

also arrived at almost the same conclusions

after having analyzed several thousand journal

entries of employees.

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While procedures, scripts and other tools are required to provide a framework

for employees’ tasks, it is important to remember we’re not dealing with

machines, but with humans that are guided by their emotions. They need to

be recognized and maintain harmonious relationships at work in order to be

productive and happy.

HAPPINESS & PRODUCTIVITY

According to several studies conducted in the

United States, happy employees are more

mobilized and productive at work. They also

work smarter.

On the other hand, unhappy employees are no

fun to work with, provide very little value, and

negatively influence their peers — much like the

one rotten apple in the basket that contaminates

the others.

According to an article published by Annie

McKee from the University of Pennsylvania,

three conditions must be met so that employees

are happy and mobilized at work. Employees

must:

1. Know where the company is headed in the future

and their place in the organization.

2. Understand that their work is meaningful and

contributes to something important.

3. Have colleagues they can trust and that support

each other.

HAPPINESS & CREATIVITY

In his work, SCARF, David Rock, Director at the

NeuroLeadership Institute, cites several studies

that show that people with positive emotions

identify more options when they have to solve a

problem.

Amabile and Kramer also concluded the same

thing: there is a direct link between emotions

and creativity. Positive emotions (joy, satisfaction,

and happiness), triggered notably by a sense

of progress, cause people to be more open-

minded. Negative emotions have the

opposite effect.

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MOTIVATION

Some researchers who are proponents of the

self-determination principle believe there are

two types of motivation:

− Intrinsic: This type of motivation stems from the

fact that an employee will perform a task or adopt

a behavior for the sheer pleasure of it, because

it is a stimulating challenge, and/or because it

corresponds to his or her values.

− Extrinsic: This type of motivation means that an

employee will accomplish a task because he or

she will get something out of it (besides a salary).

This motivation can be external (money, reward) or

internal (gratified ego, self-esteem).

Steven Reiss from Ohio State University

uses a brilliant and simple way to explain the

differences between intrinsic and extrinsic

motivation using sports. A child who plays

baseball for no other reason than that he wants

to is intrinsic motivation. A child who plays

baseball to please a parent or win a champion-

ship is extrinsic motivation.

Some researchers point out that it is too

idealistic to presume that people can be solely

engaged by intrinsic motivation. They point out

that since much of what students and workers

must do on a daily basis is not always thrilling,

extrinsic rewards are required to get the job done.

According to other academics, this dualism —

intrinsic vs extrinsic — is invalid because human

motives are multifaceted and do not divide

into just two categories. For instance, Steven

Reiss came up with a list of 16 distinct universal

reinforcements. Everybody is motivated by those

16 reinforcements but not in the same way. Read

Reiss’ paper for more details.

In his Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The

Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance

book review, Tim Urdan from Santa Clara

University highlighted other tensions between

academics. One of these consists of Realists vs

Idealists. Realists argue that, in the real world,

extrinsic rewards are common, expected, and

necessary to enhance or maintain motivation.

Idealists, on the other hand, suggest that the

real world is merely a human construction, one

that might be reconstructed to de-emphasize

extrinsic rewards.

Motivation in the workplace has been studied and researched for decades.

One of the pioneers on the subject was Frederick Taylor, an American

engineer in the 19th century.

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After analyzing 12,000 employee journal entries,

these same researchers noticed that a sense of

progress in the work (ranked 5th by the managers

that were surveyed) was actually the most

important source of motivation for employees!

They then developed the Progress Principle,

which states that “of all the things that can trigger

emotions, motivation and perceptions during a

work day, the most important is progress: moving

forward and achieving something.” In their book,

The Progress Principle, the authors noted that a

feeling of progress causes:

− Positive emotions, such as happiness, satisfaction

and joy

− A sense of accomplishment

− Increased self-esteem

− A positive perception of one’s work, manager,

colleagues and company

SOURCES OF MOTIVATION

Here are the main sources of motivation:

− A sense of progress

− Recognition of an achievement by a manager,

colleagues, friends and family

However, Suzanne Hidi from University of

Toronto suggests that not rewarding people

who have come to expect rewards may produce

negative reactions from them, resulting in a

workforce or student body that is less motivated.

Well, the debate is still going. It’s not all white or

all black. A safe way might be to be open to the

different needs different people have regarding

motivation and acknowledging that rewards —

whatever their form — play an important role.

PROGRESS

In a survey carried out among 669 company

managers in various company sizes around

the world, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer

asked that they list, in order of importance, the

following ways to motivate employees. Here is

their classification:

1. Recognition (of work well done)

2. Rewards

3. Interpersonal relationships

4. Clear goals

5. Progress (having the feeling that one is accom-

plishing something and moving forward)

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− A heartfelt thanks. Saying “thank you” shows

employees that we care about them and that they

are important. This greatly contributes to their

long-term engagement with a company.

− Challenges or contests that encourage partici-

pants to advance and set new personal records.

− Involving employees in establishing company

goals. It has been proven that people feel more

engaged and motivated when they are asked to

help set objectives.

MOTIVATING AVERAGE EMPLOYEES

In their work, Motivating Salespeople: What

Really Works, Thomas Steenburg and Michael

Ahearne did not only address motivational

strategies for A-players in a sales team, which is

fairly easy, but also for those who make up the

majority of a team: the average players.

The best salespeople hit their targets without

any problems. They thrive on challenges. They

are results-driven and continuously monitor their

performance based on pre-established goals.

According to Doug Chung, we can compare a

company’s best salespeople as though they were

the best students in the class: they can take just

one exam on which the entire semester’s grade

depends on it — and they succeed, hands down.

However, average salespeople need more than

just a long-term objective. They need incentives

over short periods of time that enable them to

progressively achieve their company’s goals and

remain actively engaged. Again, just like average

students, they need regular evaluations and

feedback to stay motivated.

In summary, there is no panacea that can be used

to mobilize all types of people in an organization.

While these studies focus on salespeople, their

conclusions nevertheless apply to any employees

that work in a client-facing department, such as

sales or customer service.

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Stacia Garr from the firm Bersin & Associates defines recognition as “a person being

appreciated by another for his or her behaviour, actions and impact. Recognition can also be

accompanied by a physical or monetary prize”

“Recognition is important, very important, simply because it is proof of a person’s progress and achievements, which attracts the attention of and accolades from others.”

– Daniel Pink

“The most important need of humans is to feel appreciated.”

– Chip Conley

RECOGNITION

In The Power of Thanks, Eric Mosley and Dereck

Irvine underscore that recognition is the primary

and most efficient way to motivate and keep

employees engaged in the long-term.

Why? Because it enables managers to:

− Clearly identify appropriate behaviours

− Encourage employees and let them know they are

on the right track

− Break down social and emotional barriers

− Make people feel good about themselves

Employees that are appreciated at work not only

feel more sure of themselves, but also trust their

colleagues and managers. When employees are

thanked for a job well done, they feel as though they

have a purpose.

According to Daniel Pink, recognition can enhance

intrinsic motivation by satisfying the upper levels of

the Maslow hierarchy of needs, including a sense of

belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Peer recognition is a very powerful motivator; it can

change the paradigm when recognition cannot come

from immediate supervisors. People are motivated

when members of their “tribe” (colleagues, friends and

family) recognize and appreciate their achievements.

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THE BEST WAYS TO RECOGNIZE EMPLOYEES

Daniel Pink and Lou Solomon provide several

recommendations regarding how to show

employees that they are appreciated:

− Be precise. Clearly indicate why you appreciate

your employees. For example, let an employee

know that you appreciate that she takes the time

to properly answer clients’ questions. Avoid simply

saying: “Good job!” or “Congrats!”

− Highlight employees’ efforts, approaches and

strategies — not their intelligence.

− Express your appreciation when there is a good

reason to do so.

According to David Rock, people feel as though

they reach a higher status — their perception

regarding others — when they learn or improve

and when particular attention is given to their

efforts. Therefore, a person’s status increases

when he or she receives positive feedback —

particularly when given publicly.

61% of the employees surveyed by Bersin in 2012

said that the fact that they were appreciated

by their company (manager and peers) made

them feel more positive about their work and

increased their engagement.

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REWARDS

Rewards can take on different forms:

− Money

− Material possessions (ex.: a tablet, gift card, etc.)

− Time for oneself or others

− Experience (individual, with the team or with the

family)

− Badge

It is interesting to note that rewards, and

specifically badges, go a long way to increasing

intrinsic motivation, because they enable

employees to rank among their peers — which

has a positive effect on their self-esteem.

Here are some examples to guide you in

selecting the right reward for your employees.

AVOID GIVING MONEY

Unless it is critical for employees’ remuneration,

avoid giving money. In a recent study carried out

among salespeople, Doug Chung from Harvard

University demonstrated that they preferred

rewards that were not monetary, such as points

they can accumulate to take a day off or buy a new

TV, rather than an equivalent reward of money.

Laszlo Bock, Vice-President at Google

mentioned during an interview that the

company had a policy that compensated its

best managers with major monetary rewards;

however, they replaced them by experiences.

For example, one year, the winners took a trip,

accompanied by their partner and members of

the upper management team. The managers

indicated that they appreciated this experience

much more than had they received money.

In their study, If money doesn’t make you

happy, then you probably aren’t spending

it right, Elizabeth Dunn and her colleagues

demonstrated that the link between money and

happiness is very weak, which explains in part

the way people spend their reward.

Of course, having a comfortable financial

situation helps people’s contentness; however,

it is a false belief that buying things will make

people happier.

Several other studies also demonstrated that

providing non-monetary rewards is the key

to improving employee performance; they

contribute to a sense of being accepted socially,

increase peers’ self-esteem (which, in turn,

increases one’s own self-esteem) and enhances

people feeling of accomplishment.

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OFFER SMALL REWARDS MORE OFTEN

In their study published in the Journal of

Experimental Psychology, Carey Morewedge and

other colleagues came to the conclusion that “all

else being equal, the majority of people prefer

having/experiencing many small pleasures in

life, rather than only a few great pleasures.”

Also, the attraction of one major prize can trigger

negative behaviours among some employees,

such as cheating, rivalry, taking unnecessary

risks, etc. Offering small prizes is therefore the

best solution.

OFFER TIME

Offering a day off, letting people take a few hours

to take care of time-consuming tasks, or simply

giving people time to do something else, has

become a reward that employees really crave.

Google is just one of many companies that

offer one day a week off to their employees

(besides weekends!) so that they can follow their

passions.

Do you wish you could be like this and reward

your employees, but don’t have the financial

resources like Google? Organize contests and

give the winners time as a reward.

Here are some ideas:

− Give employees a day so that they can volunteer

for their favorite cause.

− Take care of car maintenance or having lawns

mowed so that they can spend more time with the

family or doing activities that they enjoy.

− Offer a day off, combined with a statutory holiday,

so that they can have an extended weekend.

OFFER AN EXPERIENCE

57% of Americans surveyed say that receiving

an experience (tickets for the movies, a show,

sporting event or trip) made them happier than a

simple material prize. Only 34% said the contrary.

Why? Simply because an experience can

be shared with their families, friends and

colleagues. Also, an experience is a great

anecdote and memory that can be shared

and shared again. In addition, experiences

bring people closer together. This is truly not

the case with material goods, which are often

only appreciated for a fleeting moment, simply

because we get used to them! This is what

Leonardo Nicolao and colleagues observed in

a 2009 study.

Rewarding employees with an experience is a

winning strategy for several reasons. Satisfaction

from an experience tends to increase over time,

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contrary to satisfaction from a material good,

which tends to decrease — unless it helps

people continuously live an experience (ex.: the

purchase of a motorcycle or boat).

Experiences can be personal (with a spouse

or the entire family), such as a weekend in the

country, a supper in a restaurant, etc.

Other can be collective, which means with

colleagues at the office. These include a day

out on a yacht, an all-inclusive trip to an exotic

island, etc. What’s even more interesting is that

the experience is enjoyed in many steps: before,

during and after.

BEFORE: CREATE ANTICIPATION

Take the opportunity to start a buzz. People love

this type of reward when you build hype around

it, getting everybody excited. How? Here are

some ideas:

− Give hints on the type of activity or location.

− Gradually unveil details each week.

− Share pictures of past experiences.

DURING: MAKE IT UNFORGETTABLE

The experience is already very exciting. But

why not make it even more unforgettable by

hiring a photographer to immortalize it? Are you

offering an extreme sports activity, filled with

adrenaline? Equip your employees with a GoPro

camera. Make sure that employees can relive

the experience way after it is done!

AFTER: SHARE THE WOW!

This is when the pics and videos taken during

the experience really come in handy. Do you

have a blog or social media accounts? Post

them and don’t miss the opportunity to tell a

story. Not only will this enable employees to

have fond memories but they will also show

future employees and clients how cool your

company is.

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OFFER A BADGE

Offering a badge for an achievement or behaviour is a

nice way to motivate and reward employees when on a

tight budget. Several studies have shown that badges

are powerful motivators. That is why you may observe

employees doing everything they can to win one.

Badges serve several purposes:

− Demonstrate various skills. Once obtained, badges

show peers and other managers that an employee has

developed a certain skill or performed a remarkable

achievement. Also, the fact that colleagues are earning

badges makes others want to surpass themselves too.

Think about badges earned by the Boy Scouts or Girl

Guides, or colored belts earned in martial arts.

− Give feedback on a regular basis. Badges with levels

enable a manager to reward employees based on how

they progress over time, fine-tune their skills or increase

their expertise. Thanks to their progression, badges

with levels motivate employees to continuously strive

for more — all while receiving encouragement and

congratulations again and again.

− Reinforce certain desired behaviours. In order to

strengthen team spirit and create a healthy working

environment, you can also use badges to reward

people for transversal skills, such as ease in

which an employee communicates, support

given to colleagues, creativity and a positive attitude.

These skills have a priceless impact on the long-term

performance and viability of any team.

GIVING OUT PRIZES

Don’t wait for a year-end ceremony or the end of

a fiscal quarter to give out prizes. Make sure you

do it as soon as the contest is over. The longer the

wait time, especially for large prizes, the less like

the winners will associate the prize with their efforts

and contribution.

SURPRISE THEM!

Another way to engage people in their work is to offer

unexpected prizes. Surprise them! Novelty always

irresistibly commands employees’ attention. What’s

more: people get a heightened sense of pleasure and

anticipation when they receive positive surprises.

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OBJECTIVES: SOFT AND HARD KPIs

Naturally, for top and bottom-line results,

hard objectives pave the way to true

corporate success.

However, never underestimate the power

of soft objectives to incite behaviours that

are either encouraged or mandatory

(because of regulations or procedures),

such as:

− Not arriving late to work

− Helping a colleague

− Cheering up a colleague.

− Welcoming a new employee

− Organizing a Lunch & Learn

− Submitting ideas to improve customer experience

or a process

− Sharing a solution to a common problem

− Wearing safety glasses and helmet when in

manufacturing plant

Soft objectives can also improve workplace

dynamics and climate, foster team spirit, and help

your employees evolve on a more personal level.

Reward your employees if they achieve your company’s hard objectives

(think numbers-driven business, sales or financial goals) and soft objectives

(desired behaviour, attitudes and actions).

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CONTESTS

Contests are great tools to motivate teams.

Winning a contest — whether individually or as

a team — causes a sense of well-being thanks

to employees’ perceived notion that they have

achieved status and feel better about both

themselves and their peers. Feeling as though

you are one of the best feels so good!

BEST PRACTICES

Here are some best practices, based on

successes we have observed in many companies.

− Use different types of contests. For example, you

can spice things up with an individual contest with

a small prize (chocolate or figurine), a team reward

(pizza, cocktail hour, etc.), a race between teams,

etc.

− Vary the length of your contests: short (several

hours or days), medium and long. Vary the types of

rewards (prizes and badges). Note that individual

contests favor your star employees, while collective

contests put all of your employees on equal footing.

− When possible, reward more than one winner. This

will increase the number of chances for a person

who is not one of the best to win, inciting him or her

to work harder.

− Use ranks to highlight different skill levels or the

achievements of a particular person.

− As much as possible, avoid draws, because

employees need only one ticket to win. This can

discourage your A-players.

TYPES OF CONTESTS

Here is a taxonomy of the most frequently used

contests with employees or managers.

DIRECT

Direct contests reward participants each time

they accomplish a specific number of actions.

For example, a person could win a bottle of wine

each time he confirms an appointment with a

new client.

EFFORT : Individual

LENGTH : A few hours or days

REWARD : Material good or badge. We have

noticed it is not the prize itself that motivates

people, but rather the fact that you can

accumulate several. Here are some examples

of rewards: a bottle of beer or wine, chocolate,

figurines, badges for “employee of the week,” etc.

One of our clients used Easter eggs as a prize

for a direct contest. You should have seen the

atmosphere at the contact center that day! You

see, it is not always the prize’s value that counts.

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COLLECTIVE

A collective contest mobilizes all team members

to achieve a common goal within a specific

period of time. There is nothing like this to

foster team spirit — and it’s proven. Cooperating

together to achieve a common goal reinforces

participants’ intrinsic motivation, especially with

regards to their affiliation and status needs.

EFFORT: Collective

LENGTH: A few days or months

REWARD: Material prize or experience (with

variable costs). For example, based on how big

the goal is: a pizza dinner, cocktail hour, supper

at a restaurant, a day in the great outdoors (river

cruise, rafting, corn roast, hike, luge, etc.), an

additional day off or a trip down south.

RACE

Race contests can be very competitive — which

can be positive when properly managed. Races

incite participants, individually or in a team,

to reach the finish line first. Like a collective

contest, a race between teams reinforces a

sense of belonging.

EFFORT: Individual or collective (when in a team)

LENGTH: A few hours or days

REWARD: Important, but rarely money (see

examples for collective contests)

RECORD

A record, as its name indicates, encourages

participants to accomplish a maximum number

of actions for a specific period. The person who

accumulates the most wins the record and prize.

This contest appeals mainly to employees’ social

need for achievement and leadership.

EFFORT: Individual

LENGTH: A few hours or days

REWARD: Medium to important, but rarely

money (see examples for collective contests)

DRAW

A draw enables employees to accumulate

coupons to participate in a draw for a prize.

The chances of winning are proportional to the

number of amassed coupons. However, as the

old adage says, “it only takes one to win.” The

fact that a struggling employee can win — which

is indeed possible — can negatively impact

others’ motivation.

EFFORT: Individual

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LENGTH: A few days or months. However, with

draws that last a long time, your best employees

are more likely to win, causing decreased

motivation with your average employees.

REWARD: An important material good. Not

money. This could be an iPad or television

screen. It can also be an experience. For

example, you could offer tickets to a show,

admission to a national park, or a rental for a

convertible during the summer.

LEVELS

Levels enable you to reward employees for

their increasingly higher level of expertise or

achievements. Thanks to their progression,

levels motivate employees to go a step further

and attain the next one, all while regularly

receiving congratulations.

EFFORT: Individual

LENGTH: A few months or years. The goal here

is to engage employees for the long haul and to

underscore their achievements throughout their

careers with your company. Levels become the

envy of everybody due to the efforts it takes to

win them.

REWARD: Badge

APPLICATIONS

To get your creative juices flowing, check out

just some of contest amazing applications for

employee motivation.

SALES TEAMS

Don’t just hold and reward contests based solely

on hitting a daily or weekly sales target. Set up

contests throughout the entire sales funnel,

which means you can increase your sales team’s

performance throughout each step of your sales

process. Reward them for making additional cold

calls, upselling a service, or performing courtesy

calls post-sale. The only limit is your imagination!

CUSTOMER AND TECH SUPPORT

Making a frustrated customer happy again,

getting that “darn thing” to work again, or

providing lightning-fast answers to quickly

decrease a call queue deserves a reward! Create

compelling incentive programs to make sure

your service with customers remains stellar.

RETAIL

Are your employees following specific

procedures in store? Are they creating the

ideal buying experience you envisioned for

21

your customers? Are all of your retail outlets

consistent when it comes to service? Contests

can be a great way to make sure the magic

happens!

FIELD TECHNICIANS

Does your field team have specific processes

and check lists that they need to comply with?

Do they have face time with customers, which

could be a great way to upsell products and

services? Incentive programs can go a long

way to getting your field technicians stoked on

standardizing their work methods and going the

extra mile!

CONSTRUCTION, WAREHOUSES AND FACTORIES

Use contests to better communicate safety

precautions and safe behaviors (SPSB) in order

to reduce the number of accident reports and

injury claims. Managers can also create contests

to improve compliance with health regulations,

corporate safety procedures, and other

regulatory requirements.

A study published in 2014 in Safety Science

showed that a gamification program for safety

regulations in a fluid manufacturing plant

reduced the number of accidents by 75%.

Not bad!

22

23

A WORD OR TWO ON GAMIFICATION

Gartner defines gamification as “the use of

game mechanics (points, badges, leaderboards)

and experience design to digitally engage and

motivate people to achieve their goals.”

Of course, this makes sense. Even before

computer games even existed, teams, most

of them in sales, were often incited to perform

better when given the chance to win a prize

or a bonus. Those traditional carrots are

now managed and promoted using gaming

technology — and are extending way past sales

teams.

The problem with gamification is twofold. For

one, companies often deploy gamification tactics

in their workplaces as an end unto itself, not the

means to an end. The focus becomes more on

the game rather than what the game is trying

to help organizations achieve. Some managers

reward employees for good performance by

allowing them to play a video game — during

work hours. Others have made their employees’

tasks and project management actually look like

games, adding just the right amount of frivolity

for the work at hand to not be taken seriously.

Where’s the ROI in that?

Another issue with gamification is that it can

be akin to putting lipstick on a pig. If you want

to change employee behavior or increase

performance, you have to motivate employees

and create better engagement. And studies,

including those from Teresa Amabile and Steven

Kramer, authors of The Progress Principle, Gallup

Q12® Meta-Analysis and Chip Conley’s Peak

show that employee motivation and engagement

comes from having clear goals, seeing progress,

getting constructive feedback and a having

sense of team spirit. It’s not about playing games.

It’s about fundamental human nature. What’s

more, gamification will not solve an internal

process or workflow that is broken; you need to

intervene at the heart of the problem, rather than

use a tool that could exacerbate the situation.

In other words, your HR, performance and

organizational challenges will not be fixed by

gamification alone.

Here are some top tips to ensure that a gamifica-

tion strategy for your incentive programs actually

helps to achieve your goals:

Gamification has received a lot of buzz over the past few years, with

HR professionals and managers alike thinking that it’s the panacea

to develop incentive and training programs for improved employee

engagement and motivation.

24

1. KEEP YOUR COMPANY CULTURE AND EMPLOYEE

PERSONAS IN MIND. By not aligning your

gamification strategy and incentive programs

with employees’ gender, age groups, preferences,

functions, culture and values, you’re not addressing

the very people you are trying to motivate. You need

to tap into what makes them tick to truly get them

on board.

2. DON’T DEVELOP A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL PROGRAM.

You can’t take a cookie cutter approach to using

gamification for motivating employees. What will

motivate your sales team, for example, may not

cut it with your field technicians. Take the time to

observe what gets your teams fired up. Competition?

Collaboration? Sports? Sci-Fi? Fashion?

In addition, you want to make sure that you add a

variety of different incentive approaches to ensure

that you don’t exclude any of your staff. For example,

if you hold a draw, your top performers will not

necessarily be encouraged to go the extra mile

because it takes only one ticket to win. Why bother?

On the other hand, creating incentives for only high

achievers will discourage employees that may

simply need an extra bit of encouragement or help.

3. BASE YOUR GAMIFICATION STRATEGY ON MORE

THAN JUST COMPETITION. While a bit of friendly

competition can bolster team spirit, don’t pit

employees or teams against each other in such a

way as they completely ignore the objectives and

purpose of your incentive program — and become

almost bloodthirsty just to win. With gamification, it

should be about both individual, collective and group

goals that foster a healthy work environment.

4. SET REALISTIC AND ACHIEVABLE GOALS. Sure, you

want your team to aim high. You’re all under pressure to

hit those sales targets or decrease customer complaints.

However, if the goals are viewed as unattainable, no

matter how much gamification you throw into the mix,

you will not galvanize employees to succeed. Instead,

set bite-sized goals. Employees will feel as though they

can actually attain them, bolstering their self-esteem

and willingness to take up more challenges.

5. HOLD SEVERAL CONTESTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

To keep employees engaged on a long-term basis, you

need to craft a gamified incentive program that breaks

down one huge annual objective (say, $X dollars in

revenues) into more digestible chunks all year round.

It’s easier and more motivating for employees to see

that they can achieve (and win) something this month,

rather than waiting at the end of the year to see if they

hit the target and won one big prize. Rewarding more

employees, rather than just one employee, is also key to

permeate motivation throughout your entire team.

6. MEASURE THE ROI. Most important of all, set an

ideal ROI for both your incentive program and

accompanying gamification strategy. During today’s

economic context, with reduced budgets and higher

accountability, if you are to spend even a dollar on

anything, you’d better be ready to measure the results

and the impact on your team’s performance.

25

CONCLUSION

1. CONTESTS MOTIVATE PEOPLE. Winning a

contest individually or as a team incites a feeling

of well-being caused by a perceived notion of a

higher status, increased self-esteem and more

trust of colleagues. Being among the best feels

good.

2. CLEAR GOALS MOTIVATE PEOPLE. This enables

them to know what is truly expected of them and

dedicate their efforts accordingly. Having clear

goals feels good.

3. CONSTANT FEEDBACK MOTIVATES PEOPLE. This

gives employees a feeling that they are progress-

ing and achieving something meaningful. Knowing

you’re moving forward feels good.

As you undoubtedly have noticed, motivation is a vast and complex subject.

Although researchers do not agree on everything, there are 5 irrefutable

principles regarding employee motivation and engagement:

4. RECOGNITION MOTIVATES PEOPLE. Recognition

by managers and colleagues is the number 1

motivator to keep employees engaged in the long

run. Being recognized feels good.

5. BEING PART OF A TEAM MOTIVATES PEOPLE.

Mobilizing people to achieve common goals rein-

forces team spirit by meeting people’s affiliation

needs. Being part of a group feels good.

26

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