The carrot or the stick? What should one use to improve an employee’s performance? This question is as complicated as the chicken and egg conundrum.

Let me start by owning up that I am yet to come across a universally accepted solution to this unique issue. While influences on humans are more individualistic, an organisation cannot have different policies for different employees. To standardise, it is essential that we assume one and keep a close eye on its implications while staying nimble to make course corrections when necessary.

Performance has always been measured against an SOP and an associated target. Any deviation in the interim had met with actions that clearly conveyed the management’s disapproval. Appreciation was conveyed through the periodic appraisal process with either monetary rewards or career progression.

However, as we move from the industrial to information to the social engagement era, expectations of regular feedback have increased and team members want an immediate response to their actions. Monetary or career-related rewards, while still having the highest impact, are no longer the sole motivators.

We have a school of thought — and a strong one — advocating that negative feedback such as reprimands have a long-term adverse effect on employee morale and should be avoided at all costs. A disgruntled employee can spread negativity across the team. The best way of motivating the team is to ensure that there are proper incentive policies in place that drive the performance towards a positive impact.

But there is another school of thought that wants serial deviators to be brought back into the mainstream. Many organisations invest substantially in their employees to upgrade their skills, and parting ways is not always the best option. The group tends to advocate a balance between reprimand and incentive.

I also come across a new group of professionals who are totally against any incentive policy. This group feels that incentives are counterproductive to team building. Individual incentives make a team member selfish, as the person no longer wants to share knowledge or strategies of good performance with the rest. For team incentive, there is always a group of high performers who feel deprived if the reward is divided equally.

As I have said earlier, I do not have any definite stance on this critical question. It has always been the most complicated challenge in any entrepreneur’s life.