1. Underperformance May Be Temporary: Underperformance can be a temporary phase or relative; these employees may need more motivation than others.
2. Fairness and Unbiased Recognition: Ignoring underperformers for rewards can be unfair; significant achievements should be recognized regardless of past performance.
3. Potential to Motivate: Rewarding underperformers for notable achievements can motivate them to improve and re-engage, rather than solely focusing on top performers.
4. Recommendation: Awards, especially spot awards, should be based on immediate achievements, not past performance records.
Many line Managers and HR Partners face the dilemma of rewarding underperformers for significant achievements as part of the employee rewards and recognition program. In most cases, the rewards and recognition policies may not explicitly state anything, leaving it to the better judgment of the concerned managers.
An important point to note here is that consistent underperformers may rarely remain in the system, as the performance assessment process would typically address this issue.
Hence, underperformance might be a temporary phase or it could be just relative. And more than other employees, these employees need more motivation.
Managers often utilize all available resources to motivate their employees.
This might result in managers ignoring underperformers and focusing solely on top performers when it comes to rewards and recognition.
Hence a truly deserving employee might miss out on a spot award for a significant achievement, due to his or her overall performance history.
Not rewarding underperformers for their record is not only unfair but also counterproductive.
The manager might be missing out on an important opportunity to motivate an underperformer and put him or her back on track.
A top performer who may not truly deserve the award might still receive it due to their track record, but this may not significantly impact their motivation levels.
Hence, we recommend that awards, especially spot awards, be given based on the immediate achievements of employees, rather than their past track records.
Awards should be treated as awards – it okay to reward underperformers for their achievements if they meet the criteria!
Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of experience in both corporate and entrepreneurial settings. Previously, Sagar has held leadership roles with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn
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