Which works better - The Carrot or the Stick?

[ladybug]

Here's the situation -

One of the departments in the store I work at has always consistantly turned in a sloppy till - NOTHING in it's right place, because there are several people on the till tho, it's hard to pinpoint who is causing the problem, so yelling at everyone doesn't help and people get irritated.

Last week they turned in a decent till and, as a joke, I put a thankyou note in the next days till with a small handfull of hard candies. That night the till was significantly better so I thought "why not?" and did it again. Tonight they turned in a PERFECT till - even to the point of having all the bills facing the right way. I pointed out to the other office person that "you can catch more flies with honey than vineger" That person promptly threw a fit. In her opinion "you shouldn't have to bribe people to do their job" she even went on to say that she would make a point of bawling them out now if they did not turn in a neat till. I think this will tick them off and ruin their good attitude. - Sure this is "costing" me (5 cents a day max) but it makes my job easier with a lot less hassle, but she does have a point about work ethic -

So, what's your opinion the Carrot or the Stick?

[Jeeves]

Use carrots (candy) until they do good tills out of habit and not for the treats. Then taper off on the treats, to say, treats if the till is right 3 days in a row, gets them soda and a candy bar. Then space the treats to occasional, say, best sales day of the week and a perfect till gets the goodies.
Eventualy you can expect consistant correct tills and you can use the stick if/when the work gets sloppy later on.
If you heavy hand them, they will quit and you will have to re-recruit and train. That is much more costly than candy!

[DamedEscrime]

I'd much rather work for you, Stanna.

[damianip]

How about a carrot at the end of a stick?

Actually, I feel that there should be positive extra rewards for jobs well done or above and beyond.

I don't feel that it should be used to maintain a minimum acceptable level of performance. If someone is failing to meet that standard, then positive correction and assistance is warranted, but not rewards if they achieve it. It reduces the effectiveness of the reward system. It sends a message that the scale of achievement and expectations is overly malleable.

"Just my opinion, I could be wrong."

Paolo

[HilandDoug]

Stanna, your co-worker needs to read Dale Carnagie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People". It sounds as if you already have!

[Moonitic]

Rewards for good behavior are perfectly fine, & not "bribes" (since, technically, a bribe is something that is used in an illegal manner). In fact, it is a good tool for discipline. Besides, it's nice to give employees a "treat" during the crazy holidays. It makes people think they care. If they know others care, THEY will care.
<img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" />

[Scaramouche]

Man if my managers had given me candy for cleaning up the registers I probably wouldn't have quit!

It seems like such a small thing but it's very thoughtful of you. I don't think you should do the candy all the time, however, but personally I think just the fact that you've done it several times will be an incentive for them to do a good job all the time.

P.S. If your coworker had been my boss and she'd bawled me out for being messy, I'd have given her my two weeks then and there! So I think you're doing a very good job.

[Inquartata]

What works is change. Changing work conditions inproves productivity. Once the change is no longer novel, productivity will fall off again. You can expect the rewards to work for a time, then not. At which time you'll have to devise another strategy, good or bad, as long as it's different...

[Swordsman]

Stanna, good thinking - I side with you. However, for the future, I say you go with Jeeves' advice. Very sound, whether you're getting workers to do their job right or training a pet (or spouse).

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

A bribe is offering someone something beforehand in exchange for something.
A reward is giving someone something afterwards for doing something.

There's also punishment.
If the till is not neat, force feed them dry dog food. <img src="graemlins/jawa.gif" border="0" alt="[Jawa]" />

[Mo]

Something that would really help you with this question is the book, Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn. Rewards don't work, bribes don't work but an employee feeling appreciated is a good thing. Having people all working toward one goal is a good thing. Intrinsic value (people doing a job well because they like what they are doing and it makes them happy) is also a very good thing.
Punishments for not doing it well and chewing someone out is a great way to have the bills stuck together with chewing gum and stuff really messed up.
Treat people with respect and dignity, that is what they really want.

[Mergs]

Theory X vs Y?!? Yes, a great debate in all supervisory/leadership classes. My theory? The carrot AND the hidden stick (until needed). Honey vis vinegar thing, too. Although, some prefer to respond to the vinegar. Go figure. Making sure that everyone knows what your expectations are is also a great starting point. Then it makes the application of carrot/stick easier.

[ 12-14-2001: Message edited by: Mergs ]</p>

[ladybug]

Thanks for the feedback guys!!!


[quote]Originally posted by damianip:

I don't feel that it should be used to maintain a minimum acceptable level of performance. If someone is failing to meet that standard, then positive correction and assistance is warranted, but not rewards if they achieve it. It reduces the effectiveness of the reward system. It sends a message that the scale of achievement and expectations is overly malleable.


Good point!! Just so's you know if the till is not acceptable, no treat!!!

BTW this has worked so well my manager has asked me to figure out some sort of similar system to get the cashiers scan times up
I'm thinking a thankyou note and treat for improved weekly speed - nothing if no improvement and something silly like a sad-face sticker if speed lessens. The best part is tho - I can expense off the treats