Motivating Today's Workforce: An IRF Journey

Over a year ago the IRF set out with what seemed to be a simple task:  re-evaluate our seminal 1992 work The Master Measurement Model of Employee Performance and update it for both relevancy and accuracy.    What we did not realize at the time was that this process would take us on a journey through the sometimes muddy waters that have become the modern employee motivation debate.  As we executed the numerous Delphi (a.k.a "expert") panels, combed through seemingly endless trade journals, and re-read the most popular motivational and measurement books of 2010, one thing became inherently clear:  we could not separate the task of program measurement from the inherent question of program design.  At the conclusion of our efforts, we therefore published the first paper in the series titled: "Mastering Measurement: The Critical Performance Elements of Incentive Design."   This paper rightfully presented the answer to the primary question we had originally asked  (namely, one of measurement).  What it did not answer, however, is the overwhelming need we heard from our experts for an open dialogue on modern program design.  The last few years for the incentive industry have been undoubtedly epic.  The work remaining from our first effort was to encapsulate all that we had heard from our panels, balance it with the myriad of opposing views that continue to comprise the incentives space, and produce a fair account of where program design finds itself.  In the end, this work was captured in our most recent release, Motivating Today's Workforce:  The Future of Incentive and Recognition Program Design.  We do not view this as the final say in an already decades-old debate, but rather a balanced reflection of where we are.  A portal to discussion that is crucial if our industry is to reach the next level.  So we invite you to read, to consider, to reflect.  And, hopefully, join the discussion by adding your thoughts here.  We are looking forward to the next leg of the journey.