June 28, 2006
The Rewards Backlash
The Straight Scoop
At the April Town Hall Meeting, a number of people referred to a problem that plagues many institutions – the Rewards Backlash. This rather recently coined phrase refers to a situation when individuals in an organization are unhappy when anyone is singled out for a special reward. This unhappiness can stem from innumerable reasons – three of which are: deeply held convictions about the value of all employees and the subjectiveness of evaluations, distrust of supervisors and/or systems of recognition, and from pent - up stores of personal anger and frustration.
The Library’s 2004 Recognition Preference Survey and the subsequent open meetings indicated that a number of employees felt that their efforts were rarely recognized and that exceptional work often went unnoticed.
As a Library we are now seeking a way to address the desire to recognize and be recognized while avoiding the Rewards Backlash. Here are a few questions and thoughts about addressing the concerns listed above. We will be seeking your suggestions in a Recognition Survey later this year.
1. Are the criteria for awards, merit, and bonuses concrete and clear enough for fair application?
This year, the Salary Issues Working Group is working on further understanding of the criteria for each type of awards. A Human Resources representative will coach all supervisors on using the performance rating system
2. How can supervisors and review committee use recognition in a way that is both objective and fair?
We have not come up with a way to eliminate all subjectivity from the process. Concrete performance expectations and goals statements offer good opportunities for measurement in some areas, but not all. At some point – someone must make a judgment about a performance. Every judgment for rewards or bonuses, however, require support at least twice in the process– once from the nominator, once from a review committee, and in the case of bonuses – once from the Divisional Committee.
3. What should we do about angry and frustrated people who have given up on the system?
I think that we should continually work to improve the system and welcome assistance from those who are dissatisfied. On the other hand, I believe that individuals who do not wish to recognize honorees should direct their expressions of dissatisfaction to a responsible supervisory party (their supervisor, their Associate Director, an HR representative (Cindy Ewing), the campus ombudsperson (Dwight King –Kresge Law Library), or to me (Jo Bessler).