Intangible Rewards Motivate Better than Hard Cash

Intangible rewards are often the best kind of reward. That’s where we left off on the last blog. Positive reinforcement is a way to remind employees of the type of culture and behaviors you want emulated. Intangible rewards are a great way to encourage a specific type of behavior.

Boyd cites Dan Pink, who is referenced in a recent article on Fast Company concerning motivation. Pink asserts, “Creative people simply want the latitude discussed in the previous section (autonomy), as well as the opportunity to do something really well (mastery) and the opportunity to be part of something greater than themselves (purpose).”

Notice that money has no part in Pink’s equation. In fact, according to Pink, if monetary incentives are introduced, the result is employees who focus more on producing just enough to get that monetary reward, and less on innovation and teamwork.

In Pink’s video, he shows that although monetary rewards for mechanical, simple tasks work well, they fail for tasks requiring stronger cognitive skills. “Pay enough so that money isn’t an issue, and then give your employees high recognition, autonomy, and the opportunity to learn and grow.” In other words, find ways to challenge and motivate employees through feelings of contribution and purpose.

Inc.com recently published an article that highlights examples from companies who focus on job autonomy. Key takeaways include:

• Understand the specific traits a position requires
• Probe for those traits in the interview
• Train employees well
• Create overarching goals but let the employee decide how to get there
• Ask employees for ideas if you’re struggling with a problem

How often do you do this? Where can you improve? Start with one small area, or even one person and let me know how it goes.