We all “keep score” – from counting our calories, to the number of “friends” on our Facebook account, to our standings in our fantasy league, to the number of days before our next vacation (or Friday!), to the actual score of the game we’re watching.

By tapping into this habit (and competitive spirit) we have for keeping score, we can create a motivational tool to drive the performance we’re looking for.

One of the most effective means of tracking and measuring performance is to assign point values to your key objectives.  The strategy is simple:  use point values to translate organizational objectives into personal goals for each participant.

 Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

Example 1:  Rewarding multiple levels of performance in achieving objectives:

Example:  Sales Program

$75,000 =                                10,000 point

$100,000 =                             12,000 points

$125,000 =                               15,000 points

 

Example 2:  Establishing the relative importance of each performance criteria:

Example:  Multi-Criteria Program

No lost-time accidents =             3,000 points

Perfect attendance =                  2,000 points

Each year of service =                1,000 points

   

Putting the Ideas into Action

  • Here are a few thoughts for using points as your “reward currency” in your next program:
  • Identify the key performance criteria you want to track & measure (three to five is ideal)
  • Determine the “relative worth” of the results from reaching the goal for each performance category
  • Assign point values to each performance category (your criteria)
  • Explain your rationale to participants (why you rank one performance category higher than another)
  • Keep score and make the results available 24/7 via a website “scoreboard”
  • Reward all “bell ringers” – everyone that achieved the required number of points for a category
  • Recognize the top point producers in each performance category – your “best of the best”