Employee rewards still a missing link for loyalty

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on July 13, 2007

Workers who feel their good work often goes unnoticed are at risk of defection, leaving companies with talent gaps, increased training costs, and discontinuity of relationships with regular customers.

A survey by OfficeTeam found that 35% of professionals feel that companies are ineffective at rewarding strong employee performance, a view shared by 30% of the managers surveyed.

Effectiveness of rewards
Employees and executives were asked how effective or ineffective today's businesses are at rewarding their employees for good performance. The responses were worrying, the company warned:

Effectiveness rating By employees By executives
Very effective 18% 7%
Somewhat effective 44% 63%
Somewhat ineffective 19% 25%
Very ineffective 16% 5%
Don't know 3% 0%

Table 1: How good are businesses at rewarding staff?
Source: OfficeTeam (July 2007)

Diane Domeyer, executive director for OfficeTeam, said: "Businesses need to make employee retention an ongoing priority. Rewarding employees for their accomplishments enhances productivity, reinforces positive behaviour, and builds both staff morale and loyalty. Firms that fail to reward great work risk losing employees to businesses that do invest in recognition programmes."

Meaningful rewards
Apart from the obvious monetary rewards, OfficeTeam suggests a few other meaningful ways to recognise staff who perform well, such as:

  • Say "thank you". Don't underestimate the power of saying "thank you", either in writing or in person.
     
  • Celebrate achievements. Honour employees' accomplishments in front of their peers. Staff events recognising individuals or groups can enhance morale while highlighting exemplary behaviour and providing encouragement for others to do the same.
     
  • Give the gift of time. Reward significant accomplishments with extra days off or even extended lunch breaks. Time away from the office allows staff members to recharge after major projects.
     
  • Assign desirable projects. Give your strongest performers the option of working on desirable projects. Doing so can improve their motivation and enthusiasm for their work, and encourages others to excel in their positions as well.

More Info: 

http://www.officeteam.com