Providing significant rewards and recognition have been a constant mantra of government relations professionals who want to increase participation in their PAC and grassroots programs. In fact, the program I led for nine years, the Nationwide Insurance Civic Action Program, was a leader in establishing systematic informal and formal recognition programs which were duly copied by corporations across the country. I have always been a stalwart advocate of rewards and recognition.

Rewards accomplish several positive things for your PAC and grassroots programs:

• they establish the program’s culture and norms by vividly displaying appropriate advocacy and PAC giving role models;
• rewards increase clarity among potential members as to what is expected as an active, contributing member; and,
• they convey import to your program and put it on par with other organizational award programs, such as association membership drives or customer service awards.

But, do rewards always motivate effectively?

What Kind of Rewards Do People Want?

I confess to numbingly adhering to the “rules ” of rewards and recognition. I gave away my share of t-shirts, key chains, mugs, pins, and so forth. Nothing is wrong with these rewards — they have utility in certain situations. The mistake comes when we expect these types of rewards to have a big impact on behavior.

Canadian volunteer researcher Bruce Raymond revealed that trinkets are one of the least favorite volunteer rewards. The number one requested reward? More training. I believe that any type of training that helps your top performers serve their role with less ambiguity and greater capability would be a winning formula.

In my previous grassroots life, my best leaders consistently raved about our annual meeting where they were exposed to the top conflict management, motivational, teamwork, and leadership speakers of that time. The speakers’ messages were non–political, but were very helpful to them as they led the grassroots program, and not incidentally, in their job. We must remember that rewards can be provided outside of the traditional political arena.

For example, for $10-$15 each, you can purchase CD’s or podcasts of best selling business books on leadership, communications and motivation. It’s a non-traditional grassroots/PAC reward that equips them for not only their 9 to 5 job, but also applies to grassroots and PAC leadership.

Other recognition items to consider are resources that edify your members in their grassroots and PAC pursuits. Why we give trinkets and not educational resources that would actually help them be more effective as a PAC or grassroots member has always puzzled me.

Ignoring the Golden Rule

Whatever type of recognition we choose to provide, we need to ignore the golden rule. We often fall into the trap of “Well, I think this is a cool reward, so they will, too!” It reminds me of the time that the fabulous Randy (my husband) and I went to an auction in an exceedingly small Ohio farm town. He looked around, looked at me and sincerely claimed: “You are the most beautiful woman here.” I asked him to take one more look around the auction house. It was not a compliment. So, sometimes our idea of what makes a great reward or compliment falls short with its intended audience. While it would have been difficult for the fabulous Randy to pilot-test a compliment, you have the ability to do some detective work before choosing a reward.

Rewards are integral to a successful program. However, we must be mindful of how we provide the rewards. There is much science to support our re-examination of rewards.

Are Rewards Effective for Everyone?

We must be especially mindful when recognizing the top 20%of our PAC or grassroots members – the top 20% who produce 80% of your results. I have always contended that these highly productive people are intrinsically motivated to participate in the PAC and/or grassroots programs. Sometimes they seem biochemically incapable of sitting on the sidelines. With that in mind, we have to ask ourselves, are rewards an incentive or disincentive for this type of grassroots advocate or PAC member?

Recently, I was participating in an electronic listserv discussion about PAC rewards and incentives. A couple of the community participants stated that their PAC members did not want trinkets and gifts for their participation, preferring that their money go directly to candidates. So it came as no surprise when my colleague, Dr. Kelton Rhoads, told me that some research shows that rewards can decrease, rather than increase, desirable behaviors.

Do Rewards Always Lead to Desirable Behaviors?

There is no easy answer here. While intuition and a lot of social science research supports the connection between rewards and increases in the rewarded behavior, additional research has shown that rewards do not always have a positive effect.

In fact, psychologists have discovered instances in which rewards reliably decrease desired behaviors! This is particularly the case where a person may naturally want to engage in a beneficial activity, and then is rewarded for doing so.

While some behaviors are unpleasant enough that a substantial reward (such as pay, services, or returned favors) are the only way of ensuring their completion, there are many activities in which people will engage without benefit of any type of reward, because these behaviors are intrinsically motivating. For example, if you are one of those people who, if you won the lottery, would keep your current job, you are intrinsically motivated. There are psychological rewards to be found in activity and productivity that surpass even well-funded leisure. Research indicates that rewarding people for performing intrinsically motivated activities can actually decrease participation in those desirable activities.