Rewards and Performances

Rewards and Performance
The company I work for has not had pay-for-performance in the last five years. It is a public entity. The only incentive given is for employees nominated as going above and beyond their job description. The reward is free parking for three months and one personal day. When the economy was good the employee nominated would also receive $100 on their next check.
I personally believe incentives should be given from a different perspective. Our department hardly nominates anyone as it is repetitive. We have potluck luncheon every three months. This is a day that we close our office for two hours so that we can all have lunch together in our conference room. Management has stated it is a time to de-stress. Unfortunately, not all employees participate. Therefore, we still have some people who feel a little animosity and speak negatively about the others.
During Christmas we have our trash to treasure. Again, not everyone participates. However, the majority enjoy it. We like to do those things because it does give us time away from our desks, relax, and socialize with each other. I would like to recommend the department add raffles as an incentive for employees. We receive funds from a prescription card company as compensation for handing them to clients. When our clients use these cards, the funds build up from the savings the client receives on prescriptions. We can use that fund for raffles. Recently, many in our department feel neglected and overworked. Another incentive would be a day at the park for all employees. I work for the government. Therefore, everything we would like to do must be approved by our commissioners, Human Resources and Fiscal departments. Some of our employees are now seeking employment elsewhere.
The first year I worked with this company our raises were based on performance and meeting or exceeding goals set for us throughout the year. We also received a cost of living increase across the board. The cost of living increase was eliminated five years ago. If we still had pay-for-performance I feel the merit should be given to those meeting or exceeding goals given accordingly. This would be anywhere from 1% to 3%. They should also include amount of years with company.
If we were to implement work-life benefits as some private companies have done we would have higher employee retention. There will always be an individual or small group of individuals who have higher expectations. However, many of us feel unsupported and unheard as we continuously receive emails about upcoming projects paid by the county and don’t need considering we have a deficit. We have roundtables with one of the commissioners every three months. Someone is randomly selected to voice concerns and opinions on behalf of their department. This was implemented two years ago. Anyone who gets to go to the roundtable states the same concerns time after time. Unfortunately, we hear the same response from the commissioners as well. Their response is that there is no money in the general fund to allow for increases. Again, apparently there is enough to build new baseball stadiums and major rental car agencies. The excuse for it is that it brings revenue. In Florida, the only home team for baseball is Tampa Rays. All other teams only come for spring training. I wonder how much revenue that brings on a year to year basis.
Employers may have an initial high cost with work-life balances, but the long-term benefit is far greater (SHRM, 2013). Employers that have benefits for employees have a higher retention, less manpower for training purposes, and more employees who want to stay with the company. Some employers have flexible policies in the workplace. This helps decrease complaints about discrimination. Employees start to miss less time from work, have a positive attitude, become team players, and feel less stressed (EEOC, 2011).
References
EEOC, (2011). Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html
SHRM, (2013). General Sustainability: What are sustainable workplace practices, and how can they benefit the company’s bottom line? Society for Human Resource Management. http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/sustainableworkplacepracticesandhowtheybenefitthebottomline.aspx

References: EEOC, (2011). Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html SHRM, (2013). General Sustainability: What are sustainable workplace practices, and how can they benefit the company’s bottom line? Society for Human Resource Management. http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/sustainableworkplacepracticesandhowtheybenefitthebottomline.aspx