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03/12/2013

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Derek:
Great post. Two things struck me reading it. First the quote you had from HBR "Many employees toiling away in stores, factories, and cubicles are desperate for a sense of meaning in their work lives. Even the smallest gesture of kindness that shows they're part of an organization that actually cares can give them purpose — and that leads to motivation.” This argues to me that performance appraisal is not only necessary but needs to be done more frequently and more informally.

The second thing is that it is no surprise that small, almost random rewards provide more motivation. Afterall that is what Skinner discovered working wiht rats. (Yep, I broke out the old Skinnerian reinforcment theory of motivation.) Anyway, great stuff as always.

To Michael's point above, they "algorythimc" workforce has been proven to be motiviated by if then cash incetives.... and enforcing (and reinforcing) that through consistent performance feedback is critical. Also the point from the HBR article about "purpose" is dead on - whether it comes from recognition or other management techniques. (obviously I have read Pink with terms like Algorythmic and Purpose in the same paragraph!)

Michael: love the reference to the "Skinner Box" !

Personally, I think reward and recognition structure is best designed with thorough insights into your workforce. What do they say they like? What does data prove they like?

Overall, this topic reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the Star Wars series: "Only a Sith deals in absolutes. "

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