In today's business environment, what used to be common courtesies have been overcome by speed and technology. Owners and managers tend to be too busy and too removed from their employees to notice when they have done exceptional work--and to thank them for it. Interfacing with one's terminal has replaced personal interaction with one's manager as a result of technology.

John Naisbett predicted this would happen a decade ago in his book "Megatrends." He said the more our work environments become highly technical, the greater the employee need would become to be more personal and human. He called the phenomenon high-tech/high-touch. And all this is happening at a time in which employees are looking to have greater meaning in their lives--and especially in their jobs.

The irony of the situation is that what motivates people the most takes so relatively little to do--just a little time and thoughtfulness for starters. In a recent research study of 1,500 employees conducted by Dr. Gerald Graham, personal congratulations by managers of employees who do a good job was ranked first among 67 potential incentives he evaluated. Second was a personal note for good performance written by the manager.

Even information can be rewarding. In last year's National Study of the Changing Workforce by the Families and Work Institute, open communication was ranked as the most important reason employees reported for taking their current jobs. Everyone wants to know what's going on--especially as it affects them--and just telling them is motivating. How difficult is it to tell people that?

When it comes to rewards, most managers feel that the only thing their employees want is more money. While money can be an important way of letting employees know their worth to the organization, it tends not to be a sustaining motivational factor to most individuals. That is to say, salary raises are nice, but seldom are they what motivates people to do their best on the job.

Another limitation to money as a reward is that in most organizations performance reviews--and corresponding salary increases--occur only once a year. To motivate employees, managers need to reward achievements and progress toward goals by employees much more frequently than once a year. Indeed, rewarding performance needs to take place on almost a daily basis:

INTANGIBLES MATTER

More times than net, what is more important to workers are such intangibles as being appreciated for the work they've done, being kept informed about things that affect them and having a sympathetic manager who takes time to listen to them. None of these intangibles are very costly, but they all do take the time and thoughtfulness of a business owner or manager who cares.

How, then, can a manager provide rewards that are more frequent and personal? The answer is simple: be creative. Take time to find out what specifically motivates and excites each of your employees, and then see what you can do to make those things happen.

When one of your employees has put in extra effort on a key project or achieved a goal you had mutually set, recognize the achievement fittingly in a unique, memorable way. You will find that the more creative and unique you are with the reward, the more fun it will be for the employee, yourself and others.

Let me give you some examples. You could write a letter to the employee's family telling them about the recent accomplishment of the employee and what it means to you and the company. You could arrange for a top manager in your company to have a recognition lunch with the employee or have the president call the employee to personally thank him or her for a job well done.

You might find out what an employee's personal hobby is and purchase a small gift that relates to that hobby. You could grant employees who have performed exceptionally a pass for a three-day-weekend. You could dedicate the parking space closest to the building entrance for the outstanding employee of the month. You could wash an employee's car in the parking lot during lunch one day. You could personally make lunch or dinner for a small group of high performers. You could even arrange to use employees in your company commercials as do AT&T and Ford, among other companies.

These ideas--and hundreds of others like them--are limited only by your imagination, time, and creativity.

You can even work recognition mechanisms into your company's operations. For example, at every all-employee meeting in our company, Blanchard Training and Development, we take time to let employees publicly thank others in the company who went out of their way to help them. We present "Eagle Awards" to individuals who have made a special effort to assist a customer.

In our monthly internal publication we include praising letters from customers about specific employees or the overall way they were treated when they called or worked with us. And once a year we have a "Day of Excellence" in which all employees share in learning activities, have fun, get to know each other better, and develop an overall sense of teamwork.

UNIQUE AWARDS

The more I work with recognition and rewards, the more I continue to be intrigued with the simple, sincere ways employees use to appreciate each other with a minimum of cost, paperwork and administration.

At Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL, one of the company's 180 recognition programs is called The Spirit of Fred Award, named for an employee named Fred. When Fred first went from an hourly to a salaried position, five people taught him the values necessary for success at Disney. This help inspired the award, in which the name Fred became an acronym for friendly, resourceful, enthusiastic and dependable.

First given as a lark, the award has come to be highly coveted in the organization. Fred makes each award--a certificate mounted on a plaque, which he then varnishes--as well as The Lifetime Fred Award--a bronze statuette of Mickey Mouse given to multiple recipients of the Spirit of Fred Award.

At Maritz Performance Improvement Co. in Fenton, MO, they have a Thanks a Bunch program in which a bouquet of flowers is given to an employee in appreciation for special favors or jobs well done. That employee then passes the flowers on to someone else who has been helpful, with the intent of seeing how many people can be given the bouquet throughout the day.

With the flowers goes a written thank-you card. At certain intervals the cards are entered into a drawing for awards such as binoculars or logoed jackets. The program is used during especially heavy workloads or stressful times.

Rewarding employees for exceptional work they've done is critical to keeping them motivated to want to continue to do their best. Although money is important, you can potentially get even more benefit from such personal, creative and fun forms of recognition as I've mentioned.