Build Internal Motivation into Your Incentive Programs (Downloadable Version Only!)

A criticism leveled at many incentives and incentive programs is that they tend to diminish internal motivation since the nature of any reward is external to the individual being rewarded. As the argument goes, over time the external rewards will erode any intrinsic motivation that existed (such as a filling of fulfillment) and the employee will come to resent the activity. This does not have to be the case, especially if you follow the following three guidelines.