A modest annual monetary performance award has little impact on motivating employees and the funds available for doing so are dwindling, the Merit Systems Protection Board has said in recommending agencies let employees choose among, and even design, various awards.
Just 51 percent of respondents to a recent merit principles survey said they are satisfied with recognition and rewards for their work. Letting employees choose how they want to be rewarded increases the odds that the award is meaningful to them.
Alternative awards might include time-off, public recognition, lunch with a leader, or gift certificates to local businesses, and supervisors would be able to offer these kinds of awards more quickly, more directly linking them with actions.
Managers might even ask employees to develop a list of cost-sensitive, non-monetary awards they would like, and build a tiered awards structure out of that, MPSB said.
