The Carrot Principle
I have just been reading The Carrot Principle by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. They have done research primarily in the healthcare industry, but they present some good statistics that support the philosophy that positive recognition of employees makes a difference in the engagement of employees. I have been proposing this from my readings for years, but here is some new research.
Organizations were divided into quartiles by the way their employees responded to the statement, “My organization recognizes excellence.” They found that organizations in the top quartile had a return on equity four times higher than the bottom quartile. The top quartile had a return on assets three times higher than the bottom quartile and six times higher operating margins.
They propose that recognition is an accelerator to your management. It is longer lasting and has more intrinsic motivational value than money. I am always saying money is a short term satisfier, it is not a motivator. Consider the last time you received a bonus of any amount. Did you take a picture and frame it or did you make a copy of the deposit slip and put it in an album? You probably don’t even remember what you did with it. However, what about a letter from you manager thanking you for your contribution on a project that specifically says what you did that is appreciated. THAT goes in the file. Don’t get me wrong–we all work for money. The authors say that managers typically don’t have enough power to give you a significant amount of money to be memorable and long lasting. However, there are so many things a manager can do just to appreciate and develop you that cost nothing or almost nothing. These can amount to quite a lot to your career over time. And you can’t put a price on the “feeling like I make a difference” feeling.
