“So, if, for the moment, we put aside bonus and incentives, tell me, how do you bring out the best in people?” asked Jamie.
“You tell me,” I replied. “What kinds of things have you tried, besides bonus and incentives?”
Jamie had to stop and think. Slowly she retrieved an idea her company had tried in the past. “Quality Circles,” she floated. “A couple of years ago, we tried Quality Circles.”
“And how did that work out?”
“Well, it seemed okay, for a while. Everyone got pumped up, we had some meetings. Some of the meetings generated some quality improvements. Is that bringing out the best in people?” she asked.
“It’s a start. What happened to the program?”
“I don’t know. It just sort of died. We got busy, skipped a couple of meetings, before you knew it, we were off the wagon.”
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In the past, what kind of programs has your company tried, to bring out the best in people? Over the long haul, how did they work out? -TF
Well since I can’t say “Bonus”, the only other thing we have done is Awards and Recognition programs where we award people in following categories:
1. Excellence in Customer Service
2. Excellent in Project Delivery
3. Performer of the Year
4. Excellence in Team Management
All of our senior managers give standing ovation to the receipient of “Excellence in Customer Service” award and naturally the entire organization follows.
Well I am not entirely happy with the results 🙁
Mukul,
Thank you for your comment. What you describe happens to most companies. And the results you receive are typical. This is precisely what we will be talking about for the next few days.