Improving Performance through Fun and Feedback

By applying gaming techniques to motivation and training, online systems can inspire people to buy into incentive and recognition programs.

OVERVIEW

Improving employee performance is every manager's job, but many of the programs they come up with are not very motivational. Fortunately, however, that situation has changed. A variety of online programs now available can inject life—and fun—into those lackluster incentive and recognition programs.

Because these programs are Internet-based, managers can give participants individual attention and track participants' progress more accurately. That's a great advantage. Even the best-designed incentive or recognition program won't work if its administration falters. When the proper reporting and rewarding structures aren't followed, employees become disillusioned—and demotivated.

The best incentive and recognition programs reward appropriate behavior with the appropriate incentive. But that is easier said than done. All too often such programs end up in disarray, undermining the results managers are trying to achieve. The end result: Managers look at their program, determine it's not working, and disband it.

With online programs, however, managers can get instant feedback from the field and adjust their tactics accordingly. Also, these systems often provide training modules online, and employees can test themselves on how well they've comprehended the material. When training is linked to a reward program, employees are motivated to absorb the content, and that translates into improved performance.

DEFINITIONS

Incentive programs and recognition programs often overlap to accomplish a common goal: increased motivation to perform. But there are differences. Traditionally, incentives are reserved for salespeople and tied to specific behaviors or outcomes like selling a specific product or line of products. Recognition programs are usually broader based, affecting a wider group of employees.

Incentives. Incentives, in the form of cash, merchandise, or travel, are often used to motivate salespeople. For example, an incentive may be rewarded on selling higher margin products. In a sales environment, the incentive program is tied closely to the compensation program. Done right, the rewarded behavior increases the company's bottom line.

Recognition. A recognition program, on the other hand, is designed to show employees that what they have accomplished is valuable to the organization, but the behavior isn't necessarily tied directly to the company's bottom line. For example, in a telephone call center, coming to work on time, taking breaks on schedule, and being logged onto the call center system are all behaviors that can, and should, be rewarded. Why? Because they all support a desired company goal: increased customer satisfaction. By rewarding positive behaviors, a company plants the seeds to have them repeated. What gets rewarded gets remembered. And what gets remembered gets repeated.

COMBINING INCENTIVES WITH RECOGNITION

To accomplish its goals, a company may choose to reward employees with both incentives and recognition. For example, all salespeople may receive an incentive on the sales they make, but the top 10 percent may also receive recognition for exceptional performance.

Although incentives and recognition both play an important part in any motivation program, combining them means that the administration will be that much more complicated. If progress isn't tracked accurately and awards aren't provided on time, the program's effectiveness is diminished drastically.

TAKING THE PROGRAM ONLINE

Putting the program online provides an effective way to reduce the administrative burden of incentive or recognition programs. Online record-keeping, for example, can ease a manager's administrative headaches and keep a program on track. In addition, training programs can be added to the mix, providing employees with an engaging way to learn new skills. Providing an incentive to the learning process can intensify the focus on improving performance.

Besides helping managers tackle the administration of incentive and recognition programs, an online solution can add another dimension: fun! Programs like those developed by Snowfly, a performance incentives company in Laramie, WY, for instance, make the reporting procedure enjoyable by turning it into a game. In one of its programs, for instance, performing a desired behavior earns the employee game tokens that can be used to play a virtual slot machine and win additional game tokens as well as merchandise.

Although the interface, in this case, resembles a slot machine, employees aren't really gambling since they can't lose tokens. The interface simply provides an engaging way for people to gain more points.

FUN IS IMPORTANT

Old-line managers (there are still a few around) think making work fun is somehow unprofessional. But most performance improvement specialists disagree. There's a big difference between getting people to come to work and getting them to do their best work, they say. And making work fun brings out the best in people.

Many health experts will also tell you that laughter and play have medicinal qualities offering physical, psychological, and physiological benefits. In the workplace, a fun environment can also increase productivity, encourage creativity, and enhance team building.

CONSIDER YOUR REWARD SYSTEM

There's a lot more to motivation than just having fun, of course. It is critical to reward the right actions. If you want people to continue specific behaviors and attitudes, then you must reward them appropriately. Acknowledging employees is one of the most potent forms of reward and enforcement. For maximum benefit, however, ask employees what rewards they would like. The mistake a lot of managers make is thinking that because they respond positively to a certain reward, other people will, too.

Another key to a successful recognition program is to identify the behaviors that are required to achieve a specific result and to reward those behaviors accordingly. That means carefully examining the dynamics of the workplace, the attitudes of the employees, and the work that needs to be done. And then it means identifying the behaviors that need to be reinforced to achieve the desired result.

Too often, for instance, sales managers instruct newly hired salespeople to "sell more" without bothering to tell them how. A better solution is to identify the actions that lead to more sales and to reward those actions accordingly. For instance, making more cold calls, phoning for more appointments, and sending out letters of introduction are all actions that can lead to more sales. The idea is to reward those actions rather than punish the individual for not achieving a result.

KEEPING TRACK

Many incentive programs and recognition programs fail because managers are unable to track the behavior of each individual taking part. Online initiatives solve this problem by having employees report task completions on their computers as they complete them. Automatic tallying of results enables a manager to check on the performance of participants on a 24-7 basis. An added benefit: Employees can report individual initiatives that go beyond formally recognized behaviors.

Online reporting can have widespread benefits. Many employees are reluctant to "toot their own horn." They don't like to brag and call attention to themselves. Yet in many cases, these are a company's best employees, and their contributions are often overlooked and unrewarded, resulting in demotivation.

HOW A SYSTEM MIGHT WORK

Using the Snowfly system cited above, for example, employees logged into the program via the Internet and entered their password. They were then taken to a page where, throughout the day, they could click on any action they had completed. Each action, some subject to manager verification, earned the employee a specific number of "pulls" or "game tokens." Here's a simplified example of how it worked.

Level 1—Employee. Call center employee Bob Smith reports to work and logs onto the system where he finds a list of behaviors that will bring him game tokens. These will earn him points that can be used to redeem a variety of awards, including a gift certificate from a local restaurant, merchandise from the company he works for, a day off with pay, or a preferred parking spot for 30 days. As Bob moves to another screen, he reviews the list of behaviors he must perform to earn additional tokens and thus is reminded of what he needs to focus on during the day.

When Bob returns from a break, he remembers that he recently took a training program posted on the system. He believes he understood the material but he wants to test himself, so he logs on again. A list of 10 multiple-choice questions appears, and he clicks on his preferred responses. The software scores the results, and Bob sees that he received a score of 80 percent.

At the end of the day, Bob clicks on the tasks he has performed, such as selling a customer on a new promotional item. If he does something out of the ordinary, such as resolving a complaint by one of the company's largest accounts, he records that, too. There's no need to report how well he did on the training test, because the results have been sent automatically to his manager.

Level 2—Immediate Supervisor. Mary Jones, Bob's supervisor, logs onto the system to see the behaviors recorded by the people who report to her. Bob's account tells her he reported for work on time, took his breaks on time, and sold a customer on a new promotional item. She also sees that Bob resolved a complaint raised by an important customer. She must get the details on this from Bob, and that will give her an opportunity to congratulate him on a job well done. She notes that Bob scored 80 percent on the test module, which will earn him additional game tokens.

The system also tells Mary that she has several approvals pending that she will need to verify before awarding points. After verifying that the tasks have been performed, she clicks "Approved" and the points are transferred to the appropriate employee's account. Mary, too, can earn pulls. For example, she can earn two tokens by verifying recorded employee behavior within 24 hours.

Level 3—Regional Director. Steve White, regional director, has 10 branches under his supervision. By logging onto the system, he receives up-to-the-minute reports on how each branch is doing. He notes that the smallest branch is posting record sales. Looking into the matter, he finds that employees there score exceedingly well on tests, and he notes that the manager has increased the number of tokens earned for scoring 100 percent. Clearly, Steve surmises, this is a strategy that works, and he plans to mention it to the other branch managers. Reviewing other reports, he quickly sees which branches are doing well and which ones need a closer look. Then, he can pass along useful information to help bring the weaker branches up to speed.

Tip: Make sure your incentive or recognition program not only keeps first-level employees on track but also makes awards available to supervisors. That will help ensure that the program is administered correctly. Online solutions simplify this process so that you get the results you want.

AWARDS

Tailoring the incentive to the employee is crucial in any successful incentive or recognition program. A box of prime steaks, for instance, is not going to motivate the employee who is a vegetarian. Online systems are capable of surveying employees to find out what awards would most appeal to them. And, thanks to instantaneous reporting of employee behavior, awards can be changed quickly if they appear not to be working.

COSTS

As in many other business areas, technology is driving down the cost of administering incentive and recognition programs. The cost of the Snowfly system for instance, varies depending on the size of the company and the number of employees, but it can cost as little as $10,000 to get started.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Whether you look for an online solution or decide to run your program the old-fashioned way, here are some pointers to keep in mind:

• Get buy-in from top management. Your chances of success are greatly improved with a commitment from top management. To get that commmitment, be prepared to show how the program will pay for itself.
  
• Avoid trying to reward too many behaviors at once. It's best to start small. Keep your list to no more than six, focusing on behaviors that will have the most impact on results.
  
  
• Announce the program with fanfare. An incentive or recognition program should be fun and exciting—starting with how the program is introduced.
  
  
• Allow flexibility of rewards. What motivates one person may not motivate another, so allow individuals some choice of rewards whenever possible.
  
  
• Renew the program as needed. Even the best incentive or recognition program eventually runs its course. Build on the success of the program, learn from your mistakes, and try something new every once in a while to keep things fresh.

CASE HISTORY

A credit processing company implemented Snowfly in its Dallas call center as a way to measure, recognize, and reward the work of its telephone representatives. Each job at the center had a set of performance requirements that were measured daily, weekly, or monthly. These measurements were loaded into the system to serve as a yardstick against which to measure individual performance. Then, data about each representative (such things as time worked, training completed, and call quality) was downloaded daily. People were rewarded with pulls on a virtual slot machine for achieving their job performance measurements.

Representatives could log into the program from home or from the call center to see how many pulls they had earned the previous day. Each time they played, a random number of points were deposited into their personal account. Points were accumulated and redeemed online for a variety of rewards, including gift certificates, merchandise, and even scheduled time off.

Supervisors at the call center embraced the system enthusiastically because it allowed them to provide immediate feedback and recognition to their representatives. Supervisors received information about their representatives' daily performance and had the opportunity to send a message through the program to congratulate them."

The program proved to be popular throughout the call center. Representatives compared the number of points they had earned and talked about the prizes they wanted to receive. In addition, other divisions of the company said they want to install the system. Most important, employee performance and morale were better, and that was reflected in the level of service provided to clients.

BOOKS

Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, by Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels. This book tells how to use a behavior-based performance management system to transform employees' work into something they are willing—even eager—to do. 1994. McGraw-Hill. 

Other People's Habits: How to Use Positive Reinforcement to Bring Out the Best in People Around You, by Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels. This science-based guide introduces a technique with which to influence those around us honestly and beneficially. 2000. McGraw-Hill. 

1001 Ways to Reward Employees, by Bob Nelson. The author polled companies about their favorite recognition practices, no matter how small, and came up with a gold mine. 275 pp. 1994. Workman Publishing Co.

301 Ways to Have Fun at Work, by Dave Hemsath and Leslie Yerkes. The authors present hundreds of methods and activities that incorporate fun in an organization's work: hiring, training sessions, meetings, communications, awards, and teamwork. 200 pp. 1997. Berrett-Koehler.

RELATED SMN ARTICLES

For information related to this article, go to 3010, Incentives Core Overview; 9010, Training Core Overview; and 9200, Employee Recognition.