As a new generation is beginning to change the face of the corporate world, companies are dealing with the fact that there are four different generations in the American workplace today. Motivating a group of diverse employees is possible with the right incentive program. Modern incentive programs are as diverse as the workforces they serve and I will be discussing how staff recognition awards can appeal to all demographics in a three part series over the next couple weeks. To begin, let’s examine how employee award programs can be designed to appeal to all demographics.
Motivating diverse groups of people for most managers may seem like a quest for the ultimate one-size-fits all employee award program. From veterans to Millennials, one thing is certain- as an HR manager you must be able to communicate the incentive program, make it accessible to everyone and ensure it is relevant to all participants in order to engage and motivate valued employees of any demographic.
As mentioned, there are four generations currently in the American workplace. Millennials, or people born roughly between 1980 and 1994, are entering the workforce in droves now thanks to their Baby Boomer parents. This young crowd is generally known to desire comprehensive benefits packages and appreciate taking advantage of online incentive program capabilities.
Generation X, or those born somewhere from 1965 to 1979, have established their careers and are definitely concerned with work/life balance issues. Generation Xers tend to respond to trophy awards and also like to utilize online award program websites to access their account information. Baby Boomers, Generation X’s predecessor, were born between 1946 and the early 1960s. This generation accounts for approximately 45% of the total workforce and will be reaching retirement age in the next ten years or so. Baby Boomers tend to appreciate having access to paper catalogs and also tend to select luxury or lifestyle items as their awards.
Veterans, also referred to as the Silent or Lost generation, were born between 1925 and 1942. Although many of these workers have already exited the workforce, many have entered volunteer or part-time positions. These workers help to fill in vital roles and like to have their important contributions recognized by the organizations they work within. Also, appealing to these workers usually involves more traditional media such as certificates of appreciation, paper statements and paper catalogs.
With so many tastes and expectations of employees, I recommend that various media are used tocommunicate the incentive program. For example, many companies will send out emails to employees each time points are awarded so that participants are continuously kept up-to-date on their progress. In addition to weekly emails, an incentive program could also include quarterly point balance statements that are handed out with the employee’s paycheck or the company newsletter. By utilizing different methods to communicate, employees who do not have an email address or are less comfortable with just an award website alone, may be consistently kept informed of their account balance as well.
Aside from communication, incentive programs should allow participants to have access to program information via the award website, paper catalogs, posters, etc and also give employees the option of redeeming online, via mail, telephone, etc. Giving participants multiple ways to access information about the incentive program is a great way to make sure that all employees have access to the staff awards program and also that each employee is aware of how the incentive program directly relates to his or her position in the organization.
Lastly, the type of award that is offered to participants can have a huge impact on the level of motivation your workforce has. Lifestyle, brand name merchandise has been shown to appeal the most to people of any demographic. By providing tangible awards, employees truly work to reach goals, earn points and select the award of their choice.
Modern incentive programs have to appeal to a group of people who have different wants and needs. By offering the correct communication, access and right reward, you are ensuring that no employee feels left out. When incentive programs are designed with this in mind, employees will receive the proper message no matter the intended audience-reach our goals and reap great rewards!
Leave a Comment