Compensation vs. Recognition

Today, July 14, 2008, is the official deadline for entries to the 15th annual Nova7 Facility Awards competition. While, each year, the number of entries rises and declines, no doubt due to a variety of factors, I sometimes wonder if facility operators really recognize the importance of this type of award for their facility’s employees.

So, my question for you is, what do you believe motivates your employees more: compensation or recognition? My guess is that the majority of your responses will be split somewhere near the middle. This dissension seems to be caused by a disconnect between what managers think employees want, and what employees really want: cash or other tangibles, such as trophies/plaques and public expressions of gratitude.

The debate between compensation vs. recognition has been ongoing. While many companies realize the need to recognize employees for a job well done, many others take the easy way out by throwing money at employees instead. But, money isn’t everything, especially when it comes to job motivation. That said, everyone has to have a sufficient amount of money to meet their needs. But, rewarding someone by bribing them with cash is hardly an incentive to make them want to excel at their jobs.

The reality is that money pays the bills and buys extras, but it doesn’t make people feel good about themselves. And, everyone wants, or rather needs, to feel good about themselves. Feeling good about their accomplishments is what makes employees want to excel, and then continue to excel.

An online Maritz Poll survey, conducted in October 2005 of 1,002 randomly selected, full-time employed adults (502 men and 500 women) ages 18 to 65-plus from throughout the United States, found that employees who were completely satisfied with their company’s recognition programs were significantly more satisfied with their jobs, more likely to remain with the company and more likely to recommend their workplace to others. Specifically, 55 percent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of their company’s recognition efforts affects their job performance. Yet, at the same time, only 10 percent of them strongly agreed that they are completely satisfied with their company’s employee recognition efforts.

According to a MotivationNetwork article, “Webster defines compensation as ‘that which is given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, want, loss, suffering, etc.’ Clearly, compensation is linked to security and safety, for no one feels safe unless sufficiently compensated to meet their needs. Recognition, on the other hand, is defined as ‘acknowledgment and approval, gratitude, etc.’ Recognition appeals to the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, especially social and self-esteem needs.”

Establishing recognition programs can often be time-consuming, especially for independently owned facilities whose owners/managers are already wearing umpteen hats. That’s why I initially asked whether facility operators really understand the importance of such awards programs as the Nova7 Facility Awards. This, and other industry awards, such as the IDEA Health and Fitness Awards and the ICAA Active Aging Awards are meant to take the burden off of you, while, at the same time, provide a service to you. You’re off the hook for developing your own recognition programs, and your employees are recognized not just within your facility, but nationally among the entire industry with trophies and plaques, and, even more importantly, with words of praise in industry publications.

If you didn’t get your staff involved in entering one or more of these awards programs this year, I strongly encourage you to do so in the coming years.