What forms of incentives or bonuses work best for sustainable engagement to be created?

Interesting question. I agree with Bob that hiring the right people is where engagement starts. Do candidates fit with the company culture? Are they motivated by the company's vision? From there I believe engagement is created by the leadership's ability to communicate the goals of the organization and show employees how they contribute to the accomplishment of those goals. Recognize individual achievement and reward employees when the company prospers. Look for the good and celebrate when you find it.

Chad;

When I look at variable compensation, there are a number of ways to address the achievement of long term goals. There are stock options or shadow stock plans, long term profit sharing or cash profit sharing, and numerous ways to design these to meet your needs.

Design: What is your intention? What behaviors and metrics do you want to impact? What results do you expect at a result of these incentives? What resources are available? What portion of your budget do you want to assign to these incentives? How will the plan be funded? Who will be eligible? What behaviors do you NOT want to reinforce?

Implementation: The plans or programs need to be clearly understood by all participants. They should also be flexible enough to address short term shifts and changes as well as long term impact.

I hope this has helped.

The question that is posed here, suggests an "outside in" approach to engagement. I agree with Eric's perspective that it can't be a one time event. I also believe that true engagement comes from an "inside out" approach.

When an employee's personal purpose aligns with the purpose of the organization there not only is engagement, but better yet Inspiration. When an employee is inspired, there really is no need for material incentives and bonuses. Their ability to fulfill their purpose is incentive enough.

Great question Chad. I might add the following to the ideas other experts have shared:

1. Consistent, ongoing, genuine praise when people do well.
2. Assigning tasks based on employees' interests.
3. Giving employees opportunities to grow.
4. Ongoing groups where employees can celebrate each other.
5. Leaders who recognize and celebrate talent.

I've found these approaches help people feel great and increase motivation and productivity. They can be measured by selecting a variable such as productivity and measuring at the beginning and at any given interval. I would allow at least six months so that people can practice the new behaviors and build momentum in a positive direction.

All of these answers are a good start and have some good over all viewpoints. I have found the most important incentives are usually not just monetary solutions. I find good inspiration and leadership focus and not a management approach works best for me. You cannot manage people, but you can lead by providing vision, focus, and direction and then inspire them to be great. Sure the bonus structures are useful and need to be setup depending on the individuals or groups involved. Again this definitely depends on what works best for each of these.

We may get closer to answering this question by differentiating between rewards and recognition. Both have their places. Rewards:

1. are formalized and tangible
2. have short-term effectiveness
3. are conferred by the organization
4. are in limited supply

Recognition:

1. is within the supervisor's sole discretion
2. is attached to a wide range of activities
3. has long-lasting impact

Examples of positive recognition:

1. increasde in responsibilities
2. pat on the back
3. time off
4. expression of confidence
5. time with supervisor
6. special assignments
7. organizing a meeting
8. `thank you`
9. having suggestions acted on
10. being listened to.

A little recognition goes a long way, and every supervisor has a bottomless bucketful of possible recognition actions.

We do not buy engaged employees but we hire employees and then either manage them well and hope for engagement or management them poorly and not get engagement. Engaged employees are an employer's reward for hiring the right people, managing them effectively, and rewarding them fairly. The easiest thing to do is hire the right people but you need to know how to do it. The hardest thing to do is to get all executives, managers, and supervisors to do their jobs well. If we are concerned only with job performance, we need to hire for talent.

Really timely question....not sure it can be answered though.

Not everyone finds motivation from the same things. One person will be motivated by a specific bonus whilst another won't. So a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work.

Bonus and incentives should be related to deliverable outcomes that are properly costed from profits.

I am also interested in your comment about "sustainable engagement". Not sure what that means really. Finding one answer to achieve "sustainable" in a constantly moving world is virtually impossible. What attracts people, will not necessarily keep them and what keeps them this year will probably not keep them next year.

I am a big believer that people should be responsible for their own motivation and a leaders job is to provide them with a great place to perform at their best. Sustaining a great place to perform at their best will require modifying and adjusting as time goes by.

Hello Paul,

"Really timely question....not sure it can be answered though."

I'll give it a try.

"Not everyone finds motivation from the same things."

That is so true yet managers keep trying to motivate employees the same way--bribe them to perform their jobs well.

"One person will be motivated by a specific bonus whilst another won't."

Bonuses are over rated anyway and are not needed for motivation but for equity--an employee's bonus should reflect the employee's contribution to the organization's financial success.

"So a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work."

I agree.

"Bonus and incentives should be related to deliverable outcomes that are properly costed from profits."

I agree again, this is getting to be fun.

"I am also interested in your comment about "sustainable engagement". Not sure what that means really."

Me neither but I guess it means that once an employee is engaged we need to sustain the engagement. If employees are engaged by their jobs, they'll be engaged until their manager or employer screws it up.

"Finding one answer to achieve "sustainable" in a constantly moving world is virtually impossible."

That isn't too hard but what is very hard is getting employees to become engaged in the first place.

"What attracts people, will not necessarily keep them and what keeps them this year will probably not keep them next year."

You are correct but only if employees are hired for competence but not talent.

"I am a big believer that people should be responsible for their own motivation and a leaders job is to provide them with a great place to perform at their best."

A hiring manager's job is to hire people who are motivated to become successful employees.

"Sustaining a great place to perform at their best will require modifying and adjusting as time goes by."

But first we need to get it right.

I agree, "Engagement" is the wrong word. Retention and personal investment may explain what I was attempting to frame better.
Anyway, thanks for the ideas.
I really like the more strategic approach suggested over time that links to business outcomes.
Any ideas for this type of incentive program that has worked for you???
Chad