Reap the Rewards of a Job Well Done

The Harvester Effect

An ear-splitting siren erupts in the unusually quiet office. Employees involuntarily leap out of their seats. Is it a fire alarm? Some sort of emergency? What IS THAT?

THAT, is the way a turn at the Harvester of Happiness is announced!

In its inception, the Harvester seemed like one of those silly ideas that would never see the light of day. But in my experience, the best ones usually feel that way. At least at first. It’s rare for an unconventional idea to pass through the naysayers who squawk that, “It’ll cost too much,” or simply, “Nope”– But this one did get through. And the impact has been priceless.

My initial idea started with the question, “What will motivate our employees, keep them happy, or even compel them to go beyond their assigned duties?” My answer was a glorious, dusty, old vending machine. A machine that would dispense what every employee wants – extra vacation days, gift cards, and company swag.

So with the help of my partners and a little help from Craig’s List, we located an old-school vending machine, cleaned it up, refurbished it with vinyl graphics and the unconventional idea was brought to life. We unveiled it to the staff on a Monday morning in December and have been handing out turns to employees who can’t wait to reap the rewards of a job well done ever since.

The easy way would be to hand team members gift cards to say, “Great job!” But instead, the Harvester of Happiness is an exciting presence that’s always there, waiting to be announced unexpectedly, and to dispense random rewards in a way that indulges our often-forgotten inner child.