September 18, 2015

Small business owners want to show employees appreciation for their hard work, especially when goals are met or milestones reached. But employee appreciation efforts can be tricky—and can even end up backfiring.

Cheri Spets Farmer, a business consultant with Grace Bay Group, found this out a few years ago when her then-company, which owned several television stations, instituted Hot Dog Friday.

The manager of the station where Farmer worked had a soft heart and a very small budget, but he wanted to do something for his employees when the station hit a major goal. So he announced he was going to congratulate the staff with free hot dogs and chips the following Friday.

“Needless to say, it was a big hit,” Farmer says. “The staff loved it, and there was even some cross-department bonding.”

The manager felt so gratified that he soon held another Hot Dog Friday.

It wasn’t long before the manager invested in one of those hot dog cookers with the rollers like you see in gas stations, she says.

“Again, big hit as the hot dog smell wafted through the building starting about 11 a.m.”

And that’s where the trouble started. Every Friday, employees showed up expecting and feeling they deserved the free hot dogs. But over time, it just wasn’t possible to sustain it, Farmer says, and they had to skip some Friday feeds. On those days, she’d hear muttering and complaining up and down the halls: “What a rip-off! No Hot Dog Friday?”

Something that started out as a way to show employee appreciation ended up a major morale-buster.

“Here’s what I learned: People can adopt a feeling of entitlement—even for things that are meant to be a reward,” Farmer says.

From that Hot Dog Friday backfire, she switched to doling out verbal acknowledgements, thank yous and other gestures of appreciation rather than perks.

“Done correctly, appreciation gestures really do work,” Farmer says. “They can create an environment for other members of the team to show genuine affection to their peers—something even more valuable than a free hot dog.” 

Follow these tips for employee appreciation efforts that work:

• Don’t show favoritism.

If you’re going to acknowledge employee birthdays or other special occasions, take care acknowledge them for all staff members. Ditto for acknowledging milestones and goals.

• Keep expectations in check.

Had Farmer’s company made Hot Dog Friday into “the summer of Hot Dog Fridays,” employees would know from the outset that the hot dog train was rolling all summer long, but there was an end date.

• Be consistent.

Don’t abruptly change rewards or perks, especially not without notifying employees beforehand. If, for example, employees regularly get bonuses when the company meets its sales goals, don’t change the perk to half-day Fridays instead—at least not without holding a meeting to tell employees the reason why.