Designing a Reward System

Detailing the methods of determining what aspects of the work should be monitored and rewarded is what I plan to focus on when designing my reward system. Designing a well-integrated motivation and reward is arguably one of the most important functions of management in its quest to achieve excellence in organizational performance, according to University of Phoenix Achieving Excellence in the Management of Human Services Organizations (2002).
I want to focus on getting my workers to work hard to the best of their ability and be as productive as possible, providing high quality and effective services. I have to follow the basic functions of a human service organization to meet the expectations of the organizations mission. These functions have much to do with my workers and not the management. How do I get my workers to be all they can be in this organization, to accomplish the organizations mission. The designing of a successful reward system should be the answer to that question.
There are many theories of motivation and has been explored from many perspectives. According to Montana and Charnov (1993), drawing on the work of previous studies, identified twenty-five factors that motivate employees. Out of those twenty-five factors, only nine factors by its respondents in all the studies were reviewed. The nine factors of motivation selected:

1. Respect for me as a person
2. Good pay
3. Chance to turn out quality work
4. Chance for promotion
5. Opportunity to do interesting work
6. Feeling my job is important
7. Boss acknowledgment of my work
8. Opportunity for self-development and improvement
9. Large amount of freedom on the job

The ways in which I will address the nine factors of motivation would be equally and reviewed individually among each employee. Respect; each employee being treated equally and this will help build a strong bond within the staff and organization. Good Pay; if paid more than originally expected, this automatically becomes a motivator. Chance to turn out quality of work; if an employee is given a chance to complete a certain task and show their creativeness, they are providing independency and earn recognition, leading to job satisfaction. Chance for promotion; an employee works hard and completes all asked and beyond their duties. Opportunity to do interesting work; motivation comes in to play when employees have more opportunities within the organization.
Feeling my job is important; the more recognition and opportunities available, the more the employee feels motivated and the importance of their job. Being told by my boss when I do a good job; boss acknowledgment lets it employees feel more motivated and focused to do more. Opportunity for self-development and improvement; an employee takes steps to improve their skills and becomes more motivated. Large amounts of freedom on the job; leads to job satisfaction because providing independency and completing work tasks is a huge motivational factor. All these nine factors of motivation are important when designing a reward system.
There are also several necessary reward system properties: Basic Needs Satisfied, Competitive Benefits, Equitable Distribution, and Employees as Individuals (Lawler, 1977). I can make sure the basic needs are met by trying to satisfy salary and job security within my organization. I can make sure the organization offers competitive benefits by trying to compare with other human services organizations between salaries and benefits. I can make sure benefits are equally distributed by ensuring the employees are aware of their performance levels and the rules. I can make sure all my employees are treated as individuals by taking into consideration each employee has different needs. All of these properties will help develop a fair and successful reward system.
Some benefits and incentives that will be offered to employees would be merit increases, lump-sum salary increases, paid time off, insurance and retirement benefits; just to name a few. Merit increases are increases in an employee’s wages based on their performance level. Lump-sum salary increases are merit payments that may be considered part of an employee’s normal pay. Paid time off is hours an employee can use for sick days, personal days or vacation days, which are paid hours. Insurance and retirement benefits can be a positive benefit for an employee. Healthy insurance is offered and retirement plans are offered after a certain amount of years. These benefits and incentives will help motivate its employees and keep a successful reward system.

This is a performance review form for an employee to be evaluated by its
employer. It evaluates the employee’s levels of performance and is a good tool to use, especially for designing a reward system for a human service organization. You can design this form to meet the basic needs and functions of the organizations standard requirements. This is just an example and I feel it is a functional form. By completing this form, the employer or manager as a better review of the employee and gets an idea of where they stand. This form may be filled out after an employee’s probation period, which is usually after 90 days from the time they were hired. A manager or supervisor may also complete a form every six months or yearly. This is also good when wanting to determine of the employee gets a raise or wants a different position within the organization. These can also be compared to other employees when making that determination. They may also be held in an employee’s file and compared to previous forms to see if they improved.