Commentary
What's In It For Me?
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 8, 2018
According to a white paper from BI Worldwide, money used as an incentive yields positive results up to a point. However, when money is not the optimal reward to get extra effort from people, when considering financial efficiency, ROI, or total results, there are superior alternatives to cash for incentives. …
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
There is always a competition in our own psyche between 'rewards' (money, etc.) and 'recognition'. Which would we prefer: a discounted airfare or admission to the VIP Executive Lounge: a bottle of champagne or a guaranteed parking space in an over-crowded area?
The problem is that the answer in each case is wrapped up in the individual's very private personality and offering a choice between the two, simply causes confusion. The English usage is 'horses for courses'.) Management must choose one or the other on the basis of judgment and/or cost (empty airline seats or vacation hotel rooms theoretically have no cost).
One thing to remember: 'surprises' are often much better than planned incentives. A 'Christmas bonus' has probably already been factored by the recipient as 'salary'. A 'surprise' bonus for a job well done has many times the psychological value.