“IMPROVING PERFORMANCE WITH FEEDBACK, REWARDS, AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT"
INTRODUCTION
The process of managing the output which an organization produces and reforming the defined processes accordingly for enhancing the production outcomes is referred as improving the performance. There are several steps and measures which must be taken by the management for enhancing the overall performance of the organization. This requires that the employees are motivated and they clearly understand the goals which the organization wishes to achieve. The desired outcomes can be achieved by providing the employees with feedback, offer rewards and incentives and positively reinforce the workforce so that they remain motivated and align themselves with the organization objectives.
In this report significant importance of providing feedback to the employees will be measured. The methods which the strategic managers adopt for enhancing the employee performance and reinforce the employees so that they can be driven with the goals of the organization. All these measures are significant for improving the overall performance of the individuals and aligning them appropriately according to the organizational goals and objectives. Enhancing the organizational efficiency and effectiveness it is required that measures are taken for improving the infrastructure and ensuring that the workforce is motivated enough for providing the desired level of satisfaction to the customers.
METHODS FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF THE INDIVIDUALS
Performance is considered as a measure for the results which are achieved by an organization. It is up to the strategic managers to enhance the performance outcomes of the organization. This requires them to keenly understand the employees and collaborate with them in such a way that the specific incentives which motivate them can be understood. It is essential for the workforce to be professionally fulfilled and realize the professional opportunities which come in their way on their quest to acquiring professional excellence (White, et al., 2003).
For improving the performance of the workforce it is essential that the problems are identified, communication is effective, counseling is offered to the employees, incentives are offered and the consequences are defined in the case of underperformance. Methods must be proposed which may enhance the individual performance of the employees (Garg & Rastogi, 2006).
The motivation level of the employees is directly associated with the operating excellence of the organization. The managers who consider that money is the only incentive which can motivate the employees for working harder are a common misconception. Intrinsic motivation of the employees is essential for bringing the employees together. Steps must be taken for providing performance related feedbacks regularly. The employees must be offered the desired comfort level which they may require for performing their jobs efficiently. Employees skills and strengths must be given priority and the must be assigned the tasks accordingly. Socializing and interacting with other employees provides knowledge sharing. This creates a bond and enhances knowledge management which polishes the individual skills. The last measure suggests reducing the communication barriers. Freely communicating can highlight different problems which the organization is facing (Durant et al., 2006).
COMPONENTS FOR IMPROVING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
For improving the performance of the employees it is essential that besides monetary/extrinsic rewards the organizations should also focus on intrinsic behavior of the employees. Several researchers have been working on promoting the intrinsic components which motivate the employees (Thomas, 2009; Chalofsky & Krishna, 2009). It is essential for the employees that they are provided with the required feedback which rectifies their discrepancies, offer rewards which positively reinforces the workforce. The step by step elaboration of the three components has been shown below.
FEEDBACK
Feedback is considered as one of the most important components for performance management of the employees. In an organization an employee cannot exactly come to know about their performance standards. This is disrupting for the employees as they may wander their career path aimlessly without actually getting to know about their career growth objectives. Even if the employees accomplish their goals they may not succeed in retaining their stand. Setting the performance goals for the employees sets an understanding of the benchmark performance which the employees require to produce. There are different sources which the organizations use for providing the feedback to the employees (Austin et al., 1996). The varying sources are (VandeWalle, Cron, & Slocum, 2001):
- Acquiring the performance reviews from the managers and supervisors
- Offer an appropriately devised performance evaluation system which may suggest that where the employees stand
- Performance reviews can also be acquired from the peers or seniors. This form of acquiring the feedback is considered highly effective as the communication barrier is least between the peers
- In businesses where the targets are customer oriented and are concerned with providing prompt services to the customers require getting feedback of the customers
There are certain elements which must be considered for ensuring the effectiveness of the feedback which is provided to the employees. The factors which are essential for making the feedback efficient are that they must be specific. Feedback must only be provided to the employees if their performance is becoming an obstruction in the path of achieving the organizational goals and objectives. The management must ensure that the specific goals which the organization wishes to achieve must be predefined and that the employees are aware of the benchmark performance which they are required to produce (VandeWalle, Cron, & Slocum, 2001).
Time is the second most important factor. Providing a feedback to the employees in a timely manner enables the employees to correct what they are doing wrong. Vice versa it the employees are performing positively then they must be given positive feedback. This makes them aware that they management is considering the efforts and they strive to produce more effectively in the future (Fletcher, 2001).
Accuracy of the information is essential for the employees. If the information is presented in a positive way which projects to the employees that they are being informed and amended and not criticized then the employee will portray efforts for improvement. If criticism is done on a continuous basis the employee may lose their motivation and might fail to perform. Appropriate feedback broadens the scope of work. Carefully planned feedback is essential for redefining the organizational goals and initiating the performance management programs (Austin et al., 1996).
Negative Performance Evaluation
Feedback provided to the employees bear a sole purpose of understanding the shortcomings and overcome those weaknesses. Due to negative evaluations some of the employees become de-motivated. Some employees improve their performance using the evaluation reviews and some fail doing so. For avoiding such situations the managers must understand that they don’t need to communicate all the weaknesses of the employees. They need to highlight only those problems which are essentially characterized as problems in the employee’s performance. If the performance evaluation is not presented appropriately then the trust of the employee may disappear and he may not come up with the problem in the future. Team work might also be affected due to this as employees fail to take responsibility or ownership of the tasks performed in the form of teams (Austin et al., 1996).
REWARDS / INCENTIVES
Reward and recognition offered to the employees when they show the desired level of performance to the employer. The objective of the incentives is to promote specific behavior of the employees. Besides this it is offered to the specific audience and produces the measureable outcomes through integrating the motivational strategies. This is supposed to be offered to the employees in the defined period of time (Stajkovic & Luthans, 2001; Bonner & Sprinkle, 2002). Companies are spending huge amounts on the incentives. The employees of an organization are considered as the company assets. They are also referred to as the intangible assets of the organization.
Monetary and Non-Monetary Incentives
For improving the performance of the employees and enhancing the productivity of the employees several different rewards and incentives will be offered to the employees. These can be categorized as monetary and non-monetary incentives. Monetary incentives include employee stock options, profit sharing plans and bonuses etc (Armstrong & Murlis, 2004). Cash rewards can be offered to the employees along with annual and semi-annual bonuses. The non-monetary incentives which the organizations offer to the employees include offering of non flexible working hours, different opportunities related to training which enhance individual’s performance skills and relying on the employees for completing the tasks assigned to them independently. New skills acquired by the employees give them a path to excel and advance in their careers (Peterson & Luthans, 2006).
Employee Recognition
The employees perform better when they receive recognition for the tasks which they perform. This increases the moral behavior and positive workplace attitudes of the employees. Different employers use employee recognition as for encouraging the employees. This process includes healthy criticism and feedback which provides a supporting path to the employees for pursuing their careers. The physical and mental well being of the employees is essential for improving their outcomes. Offering counseling to the employees helps them cope with different forms of stress. The purpose of the employee assistance programs are that the employees can cope with the work and home related issues simultaneously. These programs support the employees in coping with the home related issues so that they can focus on their work. All the different rewards and incentive intend to motivate the workers towards focusing on their work with full potential. This improves their overall productivity (Rubin, Munz, & Bommer, 2005).
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Reinforcing the employees can be considered as an additional stimulus which appraises the employees and leads them towards certain behavior. The enforcement process takes place when the employees are offered certain rewards for their specific performances. The employees require that they are treated sweetly by the employers. If the employees are continuously criticized for the work which they are producing then there might be a high employee turnover rate. Positive reinforcement plays a vital role on the success of the organization (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999).
It has been analyzed by the researchers that if the employees are offered specific rewards & incentive for the completion of the task they tend to work more effectively. The rewards which are offered to the employees are also associated with motivation of the employees. If the workforce is motivated then there won’t be any difficulty for the organization in receiving success. This connects with offering appropriate rewards to the employees on timely completion. In the time of economic turmoil it is essential that the company only offers the rewards to the employees which are economically feasible for the company (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999).
The right sets of rewards which motivate the workers and reinforce them are not necessarily expensive. Sometimes small statements like the employee is doing a good job can prove to be high motivators and strengthen the employees. Praising the employees for the tasks which they perform is essential for keeping them aligned and motivated with the organizational goals and objectives. It is not always the extrinsic factors which motivate the employees. Intrinsic factors like rewards and appraisals are sufficient for motivating the employees. The lesser the gap between the employees and the management more are the chances of achieving the desired outcomes (Luthans & Stajkovic, 2006).
Types of Reinforcement Methods
There are different types of reinforcement methods which the managers frequently use. These types are (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999; 2006):
- Natural reinforcers: These kinds of results are directly associated with the performance of the employees. E.g. If employees perform then they get a pay raise or promotion.
- Token reinforcers: Certain action performed by the employees which must be rewarded. E.g. A salesmen make extra effort which leads to successful sales of the product.
- Social reinforcers: Appraising the performance of an individual for the work presented. E.g. If an employer comments on the work like saying good job is considered as a social reinforce.
- Tangible reinforce: Presenting an actual reward in kind to the individual praising their actual individual work. E.g. Offerings by the employer in the form of treats or gifts to the employees as an appraisal for their performance.
The positive reinforcements are considered as being effective because they motivate the employees and transform their behavior for accomplishing the goals of the organization. The scheduled reinforcement of the employees creates a bonding between the employer and the employees which tend to ultimately benefit the organization. Positive reinforcements must be offered in a timely manner to the employees so that higher outcomes can be produced by the employees (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999).
CONCLUSION
For improving the performance of the employees working in an organization it is required that they are provided with the reasonable feedback, rewards/ incentives and positive reinforcement is essential. All of these measures enhance the performance of the employees which ultimately benefits the entire organization. It is essential that some sort of recognition is offered to the employees so that they remain motivated and aligned to the organizational goals and objectives. The incentives which are offered to the employees can be in any form. They can be monetary and non-monetary as per the appraisal which is to be offered.
In this report incentives which can be awarded to the employees as a token of appreciation from the employer are discussed. This shows methods which can enhance employee motivation and promote team spirit. Synergy is the essence of enhanced performance. This requires offering recognition and appraisals to the employees. Different forms of feedbacks, rewards and positive reinforcement enhance the results which the organizations wish to achieve. Providing continuous negative feedback to the employees may de-motivate them and may result in high employee turnover for the organization. Criticism must be healthy and it must only be provided to the employees if they are disrupted from the track completely. Negative performance evaluation of the employees enhances their resentment and the trust of the employees tends to disappear.
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