Chapter 10: Pay-for-Performance: Incentive Rewards

Assessing Your Incentives

Incentive Survey

Instructions

Scoring

 

Assessing Your Incentives

What motivates you in your career—money or having your contribution recognized in front of your peers? Determining the type of incentive program that will motivate you is an important part of your career search. Complete the following questionnaire to determine what motivates you in your career.

Incentive Survey

Instructions: Rank your responses to the following questions. Assign a value of 4 points for the response that is most important or most true for you, down to 1 point for the response that is least important or least true.

1. For me, the most important reward for my work efforts is
   
   

   a.		Receiving a large cash bonus
   b.		Being named top person in my field at a public ceremony
   c.		Being complimented by senior executives on a performance appraisal form
   d.		Receiving merit increases on my pay cheque

   
   
2. My morale would suffer if I accomplished a lot and
   
   

   a.		My boss and other senior executives never mentioned it
   b.		My peers and others in the industry were unaware of my accomplishments
   c.		I received no merit increase
   d.		I did not win the big prize of a cruise with the other achievers

   
   
3. The kind of reward that brings out the best in me is
   
   

   a.		A corporate plaque listing my achievement, hung in the main lobby
   b.		A private dinner with the CEO
   c.		Winning the top cash prize in a sales competition
   d.		Knowing my efforts will increase my chances for a promotion

   
   
4. I would work overtime for
   
   

   a.		The chance to work on an interesting project
   b.		Overtime pay
   c.		Public appreciation from my boss
   d.		The chance to receive some corporate goods and services

   
   
5. I would quit my job and accept a new position for the chance to
   
   

   a.		Earn big commissions
   b.		Become a leader in my field
   c.		Learn something new
   d.		Be nominated as the most productive person and receive a huge cash award

Scoring

Place the values you assigned to the responses in each question in the spaces provided on the scoring key. (Note that the letters are not always in the same place for each question.) Add up the values in each of the incentive columns to obtain a total score.

Scoring Key

Total Score: Interpreting the Scoring Key

The incentive survey measures the degree to which you are motivated by extrinsic (E) rewards or intrinsic (I) rewards. Examples of extrinsic rewards are money (bonuses, commissions, or merit pay), trips, cars, and televisions. Examples of intrinsic rewards are recognition, praise, and personal satisfaction. Therefore, high scores in columns 1 and 2 indicate that your incentives tend to be extrinsic, while high scores in columns 3 and 4 indicate that you are motivated by intrinsic factors.

The survey also reveals whether your rewards should be given publicly or whether a private incentive is adequate. So, look at the differences between E-Public and E-Private to determine the extent to which you want others to notice your efforts or accomplishments.

When identifying a career or accepting a job offer, use this scale to determine if there will be the kind of incentives that motivate you.