Most of us believe that we should pay for performance and reward top performers. Consequently we construct elaborate incentive programs to reward and motivate people, and yet many of these programs have little effect on performance and in some cases actually even demotivate people.

Traditional incentive programs focus on extrinsic motivators - that is external influences such a money and recognition – essentially the carrot and stick approach. The underlying assumption is that the work itself does not provide enough satisfaction and pleasure to be a strong enough motivator, and therefore we must give people external rewards to motivate them to work hard.

Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful and longer-lasting because it comes from within. It's that personal desire to do something, because you want to, because you like to, because it matters to you, and perhaps because it gives you a sense of purpose and being part of something special. What if we could influence the intrinsic motivation? The new generation of research on motivation and compensation gives us clear indicators for when extrinsic motivators are effective and when they are not. This research also offers us insights into how we can cultivate intrinsic motivation at work. It's time we apply it.

We help you define and implement a compensation and motivation strategy that optimizes the insights from the latest research in neuroscience and human behavior at work.