The ‘Little Things’ That Motivate Employees
May 2007

Employee benefits, in addition to salaries, have been around for more than a century. Currently, those benefits have a pretty high price tag. According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, organizations spent, on average, 31% of payroll on total benefit costs (16% for mandatory benefits and 15% for voluntary benefits). The idea of adding more benefits to motivate employees is enough to make most HR professionals reach for the aspirin.

Affordable Motivation

Employee benefits do not have to be expensive or complex to be satisfying. According to a study by the Families and Work Institute, a New York research and advocacy group, entry-level hourly workers, who tend to hold jobs that offer the fewest benefits, are more likely to be productive, engaged and satisfied with their jobs when they have:

• More job autonomy
• More workplace flexibility
• More learning opportunities on the job
• More fringe benefits
• Supervisors supportive of work and family issues.

In fact, according to the study, many aspects of an effective workplace are lowcost or no-cost.

That’s no surprise to Bob Nelson of the San Diego consulting company, Nelson Motivation, Inc., and author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees (Workman Publishing Co., 2nd ed., 2005). “It doesn’t have to cost much, in dollars or time,” says Nelson, “to recognize employees’ efforts, and have a positive impact on motivation and loyalty.

“Don’t assume money is the only motivator,” he adds. “The top motivators of today’s employees tend to have little or no cost and are relatively easy to implement. Recognize people for good work and they’ll be more likely to do more of it; others will notice and emulate that success.”

Think Outside the Box

Beverly Kaye, who wrote Love ’Em or Lose ’Em: Getting Good People to Stay, says, “leaders should think outside the box in terms of benefits.” Think specific, not general, she suggests.

A key point she makes is that benefits are very individual. What motivates one employee may not motivate another. “It might be the greatest thing in the world for me to have three-day weekends during the summer, but for you it may not matter at all,” Kaye adds. Employees could tell managers and employers exactly what would most benefit them; unfortunately, managers and employers rarely ask them.

Kaye cites some examples of effective, low-cost rewards that work well:

One manager gets wind-up toys from McDonald’s (little “genies” that walk around) and, when someone deserves
a pat on the back, puts the genie on their desk and lets it walk around, then grants them any non-monetary wish they want. So far, says the manager, “there has been nothing I have been unable to grant.”

Another manager fills a light bulb with candy and gives it to anyone who comes up with a great idea.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center gives employees who have made a difference a silver Snoopy pin that has flown in space, a highly valued gift.

“It doesn’t cost a lot to make employees feel appreciated in the workplace,” says Kaye, “and the payback can be substantial. Satisfied and appreciated employees transfer those feelings to customers. Satisfied and appreciated customers tend to return.”

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