Gold Stars Really Do Work

With so many reward and recognition programs out there, it’s a wonder that some employers either forget to incorporate them into their human relations programs or don’t bother to find the most effective way of using them at all. While there are many options for employee recognition, there are those managers who aren’t entirely sold on just how effective they really are.

It might seem strange to think some of the most effectiv employee motivators have little or nothing to do with money. Money, in most cases, is not the greatest sustainer of employee motivation as demonstrated by a recent survey from the Public Agenda Forum. Nearly 75% of all employees surveyed said they were not as effective in their jobs as they should be, and half of those surveyed said they did not put any effort into their job beyond what was required to hold it. The results of poor employee attitude and motivation mean a decrease in the level of job satisfaction and, of course, minimal employee productivity.

Take for example a company that recently decided to institute a “gold star” reward and recognition program. A large chart containing the names of all employees was put up and stars were placed beside their names for each task that they completed. The unique aspect of this type of acknowledgement is that every star given to an employee was by another employee, not the managers. And for each star given, the employees wrote down what the star was for and how it contributed to the completion of a task. This lateral recognition among employees helped to create a sense of appreciation for their work and increased employee motivation and productivity.

So, rather than try to change your employees one by one, try to change the way your organization acknowledges a job well done. You’ll see that your gold star approach will produce gold star results.