Recognition for a job well done is, in fact, the top motivator of employee performance. Ineffective incentives often start to go wrong at the earliest stage, when management unilaterally announces that they have decided to give everyone T-shirts with logos, a holiday turkey, or a round of golf. Deciding what employees should value without checking with them is a sure way to increase your risk of missing the mark. Another basic mistake managers and organizations make is to expect a recognition program or activity to remain effective seemingly forever. I see so many formal recognition programs that were once very good, but along the way ran out of energy, got boring or lacked enthusiasm on the part of all involved.
Few things are as unfair as the equal treatment of unequals.
This tends to alienate your top performers, who become upset that they were not treated special for all they did, while at the same time reinforces average and even marginal performance. Effective rewards and recognition need to adapt to the changing circumstances of work and the changing values and expectations of workers. Determining what will be effective to best motivate your employees will continue to be a moving target that changes over time and with the changing circumstances of the work itself, the workers you have doing that work and their preferences. Stay close to your employees to see what they value, be open to possibilities of doing something you have never done before and test the waters often to see if something new is needed and that what you are doing is still working. Be willing to experiment and quick to leverage motivational success when it occurs.