Surprise

Early this morning one of my staff come to me and tell me about how his family react yesterday. Well, yesterday we give them a KFC package - a bowl with 7 pcs of crispy fried chicken for "buka puasa" with their family. A very small gift, small reward. But something that surprise them since it also cover their whole family.

The happiness in his face is a proof that element of surprise is still an important thing in the process of rewarding employees. No matter how big the reward is if it doesn't have the element of surprise then it will make the meaning even smaller. How do we make surprise ?

• Do something unusual. There is always something that beyond any custom (even company custom), or even break small fraction of company rules. Flexibility and spontaneous action are the key of surprise.
• Do something irregular. Don't make surprise become a tradition, in any given parameters. Don't scheduled the time to give the surprise, or the amount of the surprise, or even worse the type of the surprise. Always do something different, always do something unexpected.
• Make it a secret, surprise is not a surprise if it isn't kept as a secret. Just give them a clue, just to make them wondering and rise their curiosity.
• Make it special, there is always something that make a suprises special. Let say : it only given to special person, it has a personal choice / preference in it, it only being given once in a lifetime - once in a lifetime experience? - or it is given by a special person. There is always something to make it special

So let's make a surprise since it's the spices of a reward. Have a nice day....