At AboutFace, we realize that a successful rewards program needs to make a powerful connection between the employee's performance and the reward. That's why most "Employee of the Month" awards are perceived as meaningless. Such programs typically employ no standards by which to measure performance or improvement, so the award often consists of a manager choosing an employee without regard to merit. Consequently, employees know if they stick around long enough, they'll be chosen eventually. There's no motivation for improvement.

Effective rewards programs follow only 5 rules:

• Decide EXACTLY what you want your people to excel in based on what matters most to you and the appropriate benchmark or score they need to reach to earn a reward (should be a stretch, but within reach).
• Choose rewards that will be valued by your people. Is your team younger, mostly men, technically adept, etc. What do they value? Give it to them.
• Promote the criteria, benchmark and rewards repeatedly.
• Publicly recognize all who attain it. Recognition should be public and specific.
• Deliver the rewards in a timely manner.

AboutFace builds rewards programs that improve habits:

• Specific - Employees must know what they need to do in order to improve.
• Contingent on performance - Employees should see a direct connection between what they do and their reward.
• Immediate - A lot of time must not pass before recognizing excellent behavior.
• Frequent - Never let too much time pass between rewards.
• Visible - Keep measurements, progress, and winners highly visible. Use scoreboards, bulletin boards, electronic or printed announcements. This serves to keep employees updated on their performance levels and adds a motivating and competitive atmosphere.

Bottom line, these programs create a positive, challenging climate that assists companies in reaching their goals. Most importantly they are smart business. Companies that use rewards programs in conjunction with secret shopping improve 1/3 faster than those who do not.