[HR professionals only] What’s one mistake you’ve seen (or made) when evolving rewards and recognition programs? How would you recommend others avoid it?

Question

Wendy Makinson · Accepted Answer

Not considering whether this is something that employees actually want.

For example, just simply going with the first option rather than actually asking team members what they would benefit from the most. Not only does this reflect positively from a HR and leadership perspective, but you also ensure that your company investment into reward programmes is going to be utilised as much as possible, because it's employee-approved from the outset.

Mark Friend · Answer

The mistake that I made early on with our rewards and recognition program was not tying it to what we actually value as a company. I rewarded technicians on metrics such as tickets closed, devices repaired and response time. It sounded good in theory but it sent the wrong message. Staff began rushing through jobs in order to meet targets, cutting corners on documentation and not paying attention to preventive maintenance. During the first two months of the school year, technical issues increased by 30% and schools were calling to complain of problem resolution.

Once the system was shown to be backfiring, it was completely changed. We linked rewards to the outcomes that were important such as quality, reliability & collaboration. Instead of monitoring hard output, we monitored feedback from schools, incident repetition rates and the strength of team members' support for each other during major developments. We honored technicians every month for providing months of consistent quality service or efficiency enhancements for a school.

Ahmad Faiz · Answer

I don't run corporate "rewards programs." My business is built on recognizing hands-on value. The one mistake I've seen when evolving these systems is rewarding speed and volume while ignoring the hands-on, structural cost of quality.

The mistake is simple: a rewards program gives a cash bonus to the crew that installs the most square footage in a week. That's a huge corporate failure. It rewards the wrong hands-on behavior, causing crews to rush the critical structural steps, like flashing installation and cleanup. The company pays a small bonus now, but pays ten times that amount later in warranty callbacks and lost reputation.

I would recommend others avoid this mistake by building the reward entirely around hands-on integrity metrics that the worker personally controls. You must decouple the reward from speed.

The structural solution is to only offer the high-value reward after the work has been certified as structurally sound. My highest recognition is tied to a one-year period with zero hands-on errors and zero customer complaints related to cleanup. The reward is for the maintenance of integrity. The best way to evolve any recognition system is to be a person who is committed to a simple, hands-on solution that makes structural quality the only measurable achievement.

Maddy Nahigyan · Answer

Leaders who base their motivation only on public recognition tend to make a typical mistake. While it's great to celebrate people openly, not everyone enjoys the spotlight. The method produces higher levels of discomfort than motivation for particular individuals who choose to stay away from participation.

My advice is to offer choice. Ask employees about their preferred method of recognition between private or public acknowledgment. A basic discussion about value-creating elements will help you change your method of operation. Personalized recognition creates a genuine impression that leads to enduring trust between people who work in different teams. The more specific the approach becomes the stronger the connection will be.

Kyle Sobko · Answer

The mistake I have made when evolving our rewards and recognition programs is over complicating the criteria, that's why people stop participating. When we initially developed a system around four different performance levels with 15 steps in the digital nomination form, our managers were only using the process correctly about 15 percent of the time every quarter. This complexity defeated the whole purpose of creating prompt appreciation.

We fixed this major problem by designing the program from scratch and putting maximum emphasis on speed and simplicity. We immediately simplified the number of performance tiers from four to just two, simply Exceptional Performance and Consistent Excellence. More importantly, we got rid of the complicated online form altogether and replaced it with a three-click in-app recognition button on our internal communication platform. This button enables any employee to instantly dispense one of three pre-determined digital badges of their choosing or a spot bonus of $100 with the push of a button in just three seconds. As a result, the recognition volume increased by more than 400 percent in the first month due to the elimination of the friction points.

Matteo Valles · Answer

As the owner of a packaging and container company, one mistake I previously made was offering rewards that didn't recognize the physical or operational challenges of the industry. Rewards like desk accessories and office mugs were not well-suited for employees in production, warehousing, or logistics.

Workers saw no value in office-based gifts. Employees also complained that the company did not recognize the effort they put into their labor-intensive jobs.

To avoid this mistake, I recommend creating rewards that match your industry and fit your employees' roles. Consider offering rewards that will help in their work life. For example, better gloves or special footwear for warehouse workers.

These types of rewards will show how much a company cares about its employees' well-being. They can also boost productivity in the long run.

Sean Smith · Answer

I've seen companies make the mistake of equating visibility with value. The people who lead the show and dominate conversations get all the attention but the people who keep projects running through their work stay out of sight. Leadership distance from their workforce leads to employee frustration which negatively affects their commitment to the organization.

The correct method for recognizing achievements involves observation rather than performance-based evaluation. Leaders need to observe patterns of behavior because they want to identify which team members complete their tasks and provide backing to others and resolve issues before they escalate. Real time reliability reporting achieves balance through its dependable operational consistency. The process and individuals involved in the system gain trust from teams when their contributions match the credit they receive.

Jack Nguyen · Answer

A mistake that I have made in the development of rewards and recognition programs is failing to correlate them with the core values and objectives of the company, making them appear impersonal and out of touch. To avoid this, I would recommend making rewards clearly connected to your mission at the start and employee-customized - this has always increased engagement and retention on my experience. Such individual recognition is indeed inspiring and performance enhancing.

Joshua Zeises · Answer

I have seen recognition programs fail when they only reward results without understanding the processes that led to those results. Organizations that only celebrate end results without recognizing the collaborative work and creative efforts and perseverance behind those results actually stifle innovation. The organization develops risk-averse behavior because of this.

My recommendation centers on the importance of demonstrating behaviors as well as achieving results. The recognition of persistence and collaboration and adaptability helps people develop a growth mindset which motivates them to advance their limits without worrying about making mistakes. That's how long-term excellence develops. The process creates an educational space that enables students to learn through activities and experimental methods.

Mimi Nguyen · Answer

One mistake we've made with our rewards and recognition program during Cafely's early days was failing to regularly monitor its effectiveness and use employee feedback to improve it. We followed the typical once-a-year events like Employee Appreciation Day, when we should have been integrating it into their respective workflows. What I did to achieve this was create a #shoutout channel on our Slack account, where anyone, especially team leads, can highlight recent accomplishments of their members. Consistent feedback also helps us to better personalize our programs. For instance, few employees stated how our program only catered to those who were frequently recognized in the channel I created. Using this feedback to make our programs more fair and inclusive helped make it more effective. I highly recommend investing in employee recognition platforms, where your team can leave valuable feedback you can use to ensure your programs stay relevant and effective.

James Mikhail · Answer

People receive recognition based on their actions rather than the reasons that drive their behavior which represents my main observed error. When we praise achievements without telling the story of how they were achieved recognition becomes a mere transaction. The emotional impact of the story disappears.

The story of the effort should be shared with others because it shows both the obstacles that were defeated and the values that were upheld. People develop emotional bonds through recognition story sharing which leads them to work together toward shared goals and build deep trust with each other. People develop more powerful connections through shared stories than through statistical data.

Tzvi Heber · Answer

Organizations concentrate on financial compensation as their primary focus yet they fail to recognize the emotional worth of employee recognition based on my observations. Leadership appreciation through genuine "thank you" statements creates more value than any amount of bonuses and employee perks combined. The uneven distribution of work between staff members leads to a transactional work environment.

The situation needs a dual strategy which combines monetary rewards with genuine employee appreciation. Leaders must establish moments to personally acknowledge team members by sharing their achievements while using genuine methods to celebrate their accomplishments. Sincere appreciation produces a longer-lasting effect than any financial reward that comes from gift cards or bonus checks. People choose to build deep connections with others instead of pursuing monetary gains.

Jens Hagel · Answer

A common mistake is a rewards program that only honors top performers, which can dishearten the wider team. Avoid this by celebrating diverse contributions, including great teamwork and consistent effort. This approach builds a more inclusive and motivated work culture for everyone.

Brian Chasin · Answer

Companies often develop overly complex reward systems which lead to employee confusion and decreased motivation instead of increased motivation. The system uses tiered structures and point systems and peer nomination processes which show promise in theory yet become complex to execute in actual practice. Staff members tend to forget their reward earning process which leads to decreased employee engagement.

My advice is to simplify. The recognition process requires simplicity because it needs an authentic and impartial method to honor employee achievements. Organizations that reveal their reward distribution methods and goals to employees build stronger trust relationships than those that implement complex reward systems which employees cannot understand. People find greater value in the process after they grasp its complete nature.

Saralyn Cohen · Answer

Organizations tend to turn recognition programs into competitive systems which I have personally witnessed. Running recognition reward programs that create competition for limited recognition leads employees to experience envy instead of fostering workplace unity. This dynamic often leads to unnecessary tension within teams.

Organizations need to make team success their primary approach to handle this problem. The recognition system needs to provide rewards based on personal achievements and teamwork success while placing more value on collective achievements than individual achievements. People need to experience a sense of belonging to a larger group instead of competing against others to gain approval. Unity creates a foundation for sustained player commitment. When people work together toward common goals their motivation becomes more powerful than when they compete against each other.

Illustrious Espiritu · Answer

A lot of aspiring HR leaders think that recognition is a master of a single channel, like the monetary reward. But that's a huge mistake. A leader's job isn't to be a master of a single function. Their job is to be a master of the entire business.

The biggest mistake I've seen is Rewarding Visible Marketing Efforts While Ignoring Core Operational Rigor. This taught me to learn the language of operations. We stopped rewarding effort (time spent) and started celebrating system contribution.

My recommendation to avoid this is to implement a Dual-Silo Recognition Metric. The recognition program must be explicitly tied to metrics that matter to the entire business, not just one department. For example, rewarding a Marketing person only if their sales goal was met and the Operations team recorded zero fulfillment errors on their heavy duty OEM Cummins orders.

This fundamentally changed how we operate. The mistake proved that the best reward system in the world is a failure if the operations team can't deliver on the promise. The best way to be a leader is to understand every part of the business.

My advice is to stop thinking of recognition as a separate feature. You have to see it as a part of a larger, more complex system. The best leaders are the ones who can speak the language of operations and who can understand the entire business. That's a product that is positioned for success.

Joel Butterly · Answer

Multiple programs have failed because they based their reward systems on results without understanding the full context of each situation. Workplace dynamics suffer from negative effects when organizations focus on productivity achievements without assessing ethical standards and team collaboration. This practice often breaks down the unity which exists between team members.

Organizations should establish a connection between their recognition systems and their performance metrics and organizational values according to the second recommendation. Reward the process of work completion instead of focusing on the end results. The system enables organizations to preserve their core values which should remain permanent cultural elements of the company. True recognition involves understanding both the final achievements of work and all the steps needed to achieve them.

Darryl Stevens · Answer

Organizations make their largest error when they use reward and recognition systems to create temporary morale increases instead of developing lasting cultural growth. Leaders commonly create bonus systems which fail to link up with organizational values and performance targets. The method creates an impression that recognition exists for show rather than actual purpose.

The recognition system should reward employees for specific behaviors which showcase their commitment to organizational values and mission. Authenticity stands out more than elaborate displays to people. People develop enduring motivation and authentic trust through personal recognition which happens often and supports common goals. The method of recognition evolves into a cultural practice which replaces its original status as a management tool.

James Scribner · Answer

I've seen companies damage trust by unintentionally rewarding the same groups over and over. The political undertones in the process emerge from the unintentional patterns which occur during recognition processes. The program becomes discredited when people start to believe it contains biased information.

The most effective approach involves organizations maintaining open visibility of recognition activities which staff members can easily access. People need to earn recognition because acknowledgment never appears by itself according to the principle of transparency. People develop faith in fairness through personal observation of its occurrence. The belief system serves as the base which leads to enduring loyalty and authentic team collaboration.

Ryan Hetrick · Answer

Leaders show initial excitement when starting recognition programs but their commitment to these initiatives fades away with the passage of time. The short duration of employee-focused attention leads workers to develop distrustful attitudes toward their organization. The system becomes unreliable when this occurs.

A long-term recognition system should be established to stop this problem from happening. The company should establish this practice as a cultural norm by holding frequent team recognition sessions and individual employee appreciation events and team recognition ceremonies. People trust genuine recognition only when it seems real instead of artificial. Your actions prove that you show appreciation as a core part of who you are instead of something you do sporadically.

[HR professionals only] What’s one mistake you’ve seen (or made) when evolving rewards and recognition programs? How would you recommend others avoid it?

59 Answers

Related Questions

[HR professionals only] What’s one mistake you’ve seen (or made) when evolving rewards and recognition programs? How would you recommend others avoid it?

59 Answers