Reward Systems: Does Yours Measure Up? (Memo to the CEO)

It's one of the thorniest management problems around: dealing with unmotivated, low-performing employees. It's easy to point the finger of blame at them. But in most companies, it's the reward system, not the workforce, that's causing poor attitudes and performance: many reward systems actually discourage desired behaviors while rewarding the very actions that drive executives crazy.

In Reward Systems: Does Yours Deliver? Steve Kerr describes the steps you must take to create an effective reward system:
- Clarify what you mean by "performance" -- in ways that help employees understand how they can support what you're trying to accomplish
- Devise an effective performance-measurement system that distinguishes between metrics used for control and those used for employees' development
- Design a reward system that motivates people to do what you want them to do while also meeting their needs

To get the most from employees, you don't need to add headcount, upgrade your IT capabilities, or hire consultants. You do need to develop the right reward system. This book shows you how.

From our new Memo to the CEO series -- solutions-focused advice from today's leading practitioners.

Steve Kerr is the former Chief Learning Officer of Goldman Sachs and General Electric. He is a former professor of management and has served on the faculties of the University of Michigan business school, Ohio State University, and the University of Southern California, where he was faculty dean. He has authored numerous academic articles and coauthored the bestselling business books The Boundaryless Organization and The GE Work-Out.