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MAKING YOUR REINFORCEMENT COUNT

Regardless of whether you use social reinforcers, tokens, or reinforcing memos, there are several guidelines you should follow in making your "thank you" really count:  

Be specific.
Everyone engages in hundreds of behaviors each day. Consequently, if you want to thank employees for a job well done, you must be very specific about what you are thanking them for doing.  A vague "good job" or "I appreciate that" just won't do. If you are not specific about what the employee did, he or she may misinterpret the praise, and you will lose the opportunity to shape desirable behavior.  For example, instead of saying, "Hey, John, thanks for the help yesterday," say, "John, I really appreciate the fact that you volunteered to stay late last night and help with loading that delivery van even though it wasn't your job."

Thank people immediately.
Lack of immediacy diminishes the impact of a "thank you." So many times you see or hear an employee do something good, but then you get distracted and don't remember to praise the person until hours, days, or weeks later. By then, of course, the immediacy of the reinforcement is lost. Not only will the "thank you" be less effective than it could have been, but the employee might even take it as an insult. "If she really thought I did a good job," the employee may think, "why did she take so long to get around to saying so?" Being late with a ''thank you" is like being late with a birthday present. No matter how nice the present is, it loses something when it's late.

Make "thank you" contingent on performance.
It's nice to say "thank you," but you shouldn't say "thank you" just to be nice. You should say it to show your employees that you appreciate good performance and that you want them to repeat that behavior. If you hand out "thank yous" without linking them to performance, they lose their power to encourage good performance.  

Remember this when you hand out turkeys to all your employees at Thanksgiving or give everyone a Christmas bonus (regardless of how well they performed during the year).  Rewards that aren't directly tied to performance won't encourage better performance.  If you want your employees to work harder, your "thank you" must be contingent on performance. Perform and you get a reward; don't perform and you don't get it. It's that simple.

Make your "thank you" proportional to what was done.
Often, the simple words "thank you" or "I really appreciate that" are enough, but there are times when something more is needed - a gift, a plaque, or a bonus perhaps. Think about what the employee did and what it meant to your company. Then make the nature of your "thank you" match the value of the performance.  Don't be like the airline executive who told us, "We thank our people all the time. Whenever we have a bomb scare and an employee volunteers to look for the bomb and finds it, we send him or her a letter of commendation."

Individualize your "thank you."
Where, when, and how you say "thank you" must be tailored to the person you are thanking if your reinforcement is to have any power. Some people like public praise; some prefer to be praised in private. Fifty-yard-line seats at a big football game would be the perfect "thank you" for some employees; others would prefer tickets to the ballet.  Saying "thank you" is like buying a present for someone - you need to know something about the person in order to choose the right gift. The more you know about your employees, the easier it will be for you to say "thank you" in a way that really matters to them.

You must  get to know your employees if you hope to find the right reinforcements to motivate them. You've probably heard this suggestion. "Manage by walking around." That's good advice.  Get out of your office and get to know your staff. Listen to what they talk about. Watch what they do during breaks or on their lunch hour. Ask about their plans after work or on holidays.  If you spend enough time around your employees, you will learn a lot about how to motivate them.

Personalize your "thank you."
In order to really matter, your "thank you" has to be personal.  The reward or recognition that you offer shouldn't come from the corporation; it should come directly from you.  When you thank people, tell them what their good performance means to you personally. Tell them how much you appreciate what they did. For example, if you want to thank someone in writing, don't send a typed form letter. Instead, send a short, handwritten note. And instead of writing, "XYZ Corp. would like to express its appreciation to you for . . ." write, "Dear John, I wanted to take a moment to write to you personally and tell you how much I appreciate . . ."

Be sincere.
Don't thank someone for a job well done unless you really mean it. Saying "thank you" is not something you can fake. If you don't feel it, don't do it. Employees can see through insincerity every time, and one instance of praise that's less than heartfelt will render all your subsequent "thank yous" suspect.  

Be consistent.
Don't just thank some of the people some of the time. You'll be accused of playing favorites. Reinforcement will work only if you do it consistently. There are two secrets to consistency. First, think through the results you want and the behavior that gets those results, and discuss it with your people. For example, you and your staff need to agree not only that customer service is important, but also how customer service is measured and what behaviors lead to good customer service.

Second, make reinforcement a regular part of meetings with your employees. This not only ensures consistent reinforcement, since it's done on a regular basis, but it also makes your staff meetings more positive. Too often, meetings are devoted to nothing but a discussion of problems. Building reinforcement into the regular agenda ensures that at least part of each meeting is spent celebrating successes.

Vary your reinforcement.
Would you want to receive the same present every year on your birthday? Of course not.  It's the same with "thank yous." If you want to make your "thank you" matter, you have to vary where, when, and how you reinforce people. One month, celebrate completing a major project with balloons and champagne; after the next big project, try giving everybody who contributed a small trophy.

It's not so much what you do; it's the mystery that matters.  Again, think of your "thank you" as a present. A present is more fun to open when you have no idea what it is. Of course, your employees should feel confident that their hard work will be appreciated, but it's good to keep them guessing about just what you might do to say "thank you."

Never mix reinforcement with punishment or ask for additional behavior.
"But" is the worst word you can use when reinforcing people.  It makes people suspicious - they start waiting for the other shoe to drop. If your work environment has not been very positive in the past, people will probably be a little hesitant to accept your
thanks at first. When you praise them, they may think, "I wonder what he wants?" or "What is she setting me up for now?"

You dilute the impact of praise when you immediately follow it with criticism or a request for something more. Don't say, "John, I really appreciate the overtime you worked last night to help us with the inventory. Now, could you stay tonight to help Bill with the job he has to do?" Simply thank him for his help.

Of course, this doesn't mean you can't correct problem behavior.  Just make sure you  don't discuss problems at the same time you are praising a person. Let some time pass so that the two concerns will be seen as separate.

If you follow these ten guidelines, you will be able to say "thank you" in a way that will motivate your employees to higher and higher levels of performance.

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