Managing change and people in organizations

What could ensure total loyalty from any employee?   Is it above market median pay, liberal benefits, fancy perquisites, accelerated career, or robust recognition opportunities? Having a sound reward plan, is no guarantee for eliciting employee’s loyalty and serve as a passport to superior performance. The employee reward plans can at best achieve short-term and purely a temporary correction in employee behaviour. Reward programs do not produce lasting changes in employee behaviour just as penalising employee brings an impact which lasts only for short periods. The positive impact of rewards lasts only for a few days just like the swing and sting of cricket ball which is lost once the shine fades away. Employers cannot aspire to secure a durable loyalty by rewarding the milestone anniversaries with liberal monetary rewards. Long serving employees are not committed to  acknowledging  with continuous contribution. Acknowledging invokes positive feeling which la...

To reward or not to reward? Employee Reward and Recognition plans Laboratory conditions where dogs and monkeys were subject to experiment to repeat behavior in some way applies to human behavior and conditioning. This theory appeals to HR professionals for trying out reward programs not realizing that what works on animals do not work for humans. There is early research finding with animals to show that enhancing intensity or level of driving force beyond a point works but it does not keep enhancing learning and performance. (The Yerkes-Dodson law).The application of this did not go beyond laboratory. Even simple award programs can impact in much broader and complex ways on the individual and collective behavior. Today’s workplace is different in terms of technology and multi-culture. Therefore the tested rewards are not enough to produce enthusiasm and motivation. Even if people were offered enough money to live comfortably for their entire life, they would still pre...