The importance of timely and fair rewards

I was returning home in a BMTC (Bangalore city transport) bus (image above) post my 10Km. walk on a Sunday morning. As I happily settled down in a comfortable seat next to a window, after a tiring long walk, I saw an off-duty staff standing next to the driver and chatting with him - something commonplace. Just as I was about to close my eyes for a short much-deserved nap, I overheard the two discuss the awards recently announced for long-service drivers with safe-driving records.

The bus driver mentioned that drivers much younger than he had been rewarded with silver and gold awards, whereas he had been overlooked. Worse, his inquiry with the concerned had got a very casual and dry response - "you have barely 2-3 years of service, just continue to serve well until your retirement". He felt his grievance was not heard well, and alleged that many with tainted service records (with accidents) had also been rewarded thanks to their close contacts with the higher-ups. The staff advised him to speak to his depot in-charge saying it was the depot managers who sent recommendations for the awards and their words meant a lot.

The incident got me thinking of the importance of timely and fair rewards at the workplace. It would be a lie to say all employers have prompt and fair reward practices in place. Yet, even as company rules and policies need to be practised the following could be followed -
1. It would be a great gesture if the names of awardees were shared openly so that undue expectations don't rise in the first place.
2. There should be enough channels for those who feel left out to clear any misconceptions they have, to prevent any disappointments or misunderstanding from taking root in the mind, which can severely affect the mental state of the affected and in turn, the productivity at work.
3. As for the concept of rewards itself, there could be several categories to cater to performance in different ways. Gold and silver awards apart, cash prizes, bonus, paid leave, public recognition and so on could be considered to keep as many as possible happy that their contribution is valued. Everyone likes to be appreciated, more when they deserve it. The employer's budget constraint is not reason enough to deprive the deserving from being rewarded for any reason.
4. The type of industry, I feel, has certainly to be taken note of, to implement a fruitful rewarding practice. In this case, drivers serve in stressful conditions like exhausting traffic snarls, catering to a demanding public, putting in long hours of work, suffering inadequate leave at times, and deteriorating health. Timely rewards make for a feel good factor in the work life of the drivers and conductors in the buses. That in turn, would make them serve happily, resulting in fewer - if not zero - accidents, and that's what we all look for as customers. So that's a win-win for all.

- published on LinkedIn on 28Jan2024