At Power2Motivate we are constantly expanding our research and skills in the psychology of motivation, particularly how it relates to employee engagement. This month I have enjoyed reading Aubrey C Daniels’ landmark performance management book Bring out the Best In People – How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement.

Although this book was first published nearly a decade ago it remains accessible and relevant today and is packed full of practical tips that can easily be implemented in any business that wants to get the best from its people.

The key out takes that I got from the book were:

1. Positive reinforcement should be a daily affair promoted and engaged in actively by management.
2. Recognition (reinforcement) must be earned as a consequence of clearly defined performance
3. The recognition (reinforcement)  must have personal value for the employee who receives it
4. Delay between employee behavior and recognition and reinforcement of that behavior by managers must be minimal (therefore recognition should be immediate).
5. Recognition of employees should be preceded by personal/group celebration of their achievement.
6. Money is not the best incentive to employees.

One interesting observation made by Daniels is that Employee Of The Month programs often do not work because of the delay between the behaviour and the recognition and the small number of recipients.  Daniels’ suggests that the way to improve such programs is to broaden the base of recipients by increasing the frequency of social recognition among peers.

I am glad to report that the Power2Motivate recognition solution perfectly overlays the suggestions and findings in Bringing Out the Best In People with the very best in modern technology for the workplace.

If you interested in getting the best from your people then I highly recommend you read this book.

Simon Tufrey
Motivation Coach Power2Motivate