Jill Christensen
Jill ChristensenAuthor Blogger
Jill Christensen is a guest blogger for EmpowerPoints, an employee engagement expert, best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. She is a Top 100 Global Employee Engagement Influencer, authored the best-selling book, If Not You, Who?, and works with the best and brightest global leaders to improve productivity and retention, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth by re-engaging employees. Jill’s Website | LinkedIn Profile

I read a statistic that 63% of people would rather receive a new title than a pay raise. Why?  Because people want to see that their work has an impact and the promotion is a recognition for their contributions.  However, this means 37% of people would rather have the money.

I recently met an ex-Fortune 500 leader who shared with me an effective way to recognize employees with money.  Leaders in the company’s Boulder, CO, office created a “Wall of Fame” in the 1990s, which recognized individuals who closed business and generated revenue.  The people appreciated the recognition and the wall became a place that all employees visited often to see who were the top performers.  (Today, this wall would need to be virtual.)

Like anything else, there’s always an upside and downside to these types of public displays.  Having one’s name on an engraved plaque was a good motivator for the high performers to continue performing.  However, it doesn’t take long to realize there’s a core group of “rain makers” who regularly sign business and had their name on the wall multiple times, which can demotivate average performers.

While any form of recognition is appreciated by employees, this leader’s experience was that the compensation scheme was equally, if not more, important, as the highest performers received the largest raises and bonuses.  His theory?  Employee morale can’t be bought, and it doesn’t hurt to have that brass ring prominently positioned for anyone to reach for.  In fact, even though the Wall no longer exists, it is still talked about today whenever past colleagues gather to network or reminisce.

WHAT CAN I DO?  How are you recognizing employees?  Is it effective?  How do you know?  Although 63% of people would rather receive a new title than a pay raise, 37% would not.  What are you doing to keep these employees motivated, engaged and feeling appreciated for a job well done?  Maybe the Wall of Fame is your answer and maybe not.  Either way, EmpowerPoints has a lot of options to get the most out of your people.  Check them out today and create a better tomorrow.