Recognition and Rewards: Who’s Got the Time These Days, Not to Mention the $$$?

Guest post by: Robin Throckmorton
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Recruiting 2011 – Are you keeping up? - By Robin Throckmorton

With statistics, such as Salary.com's February 2009 survey reporting that 68% of employees are actively looking for new jobs NOW, HR needs to find a way to retain workers before the economy regains strength and they jump ship. A report by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) identified employee recognition as a key factor in retaining top performing workers. Employee recognition seems simple enough...knowing this, what's holding us back from firing this magic bullet? Is it time? Is it money?

When it comes to the time constraints of a reward and recognition program, you need to put the time in on the front end of planning and developing the program; making sure you have all the details necessary for the whole program so it nearly runs itself once it is put into place. We recently developed a program for a client because the client didn't have the "time." We determined levels from non-monetary to low cost to significant reward. We developed a brand for the program and all supporting communications including quarterly advertisements for the next two years. Finally and most importantly, we developed a manager's tool kit and trained the managers on the program and recognition and reward in general. Yes, it was a lot of work (aka "time") up front, but then the program was ready to roll-out and run with little time and effort. It's in place now and is doing just that - running like a well oiled machine with little effort needed from Human Resources.

Our next obstacle to overcome is money but employees are actually making this one easier than we may think. Monetary rewards are no longer as important to employees as just simply being recognized. Research by BCP Handbook found that the correlation between the length of time people intended to stay with their current employer and recognition received for work well done was more significant than longevity and monetary rewards. In addition, Sherry Ryan a Training Specialist with Weyerhaeuser Company reported in her article on "Rewards and Recognition" that people are motivated to perform at a higher level by positive recognition from their managers and peers. She went on to say "These types of recognition can be inexpensive to give, but priceless to receive." Finally, in a Strategic Rewards Survey by Watson Wyatt, they also found that financial rewards are not the number one motivator for employees. Employees are more motivated by opportunities to show what they can do and be perceived as successful by their peers. Bottom-line it looks like we may be able to motivate our employees with some non-monetary rewards if we can find the time to offer a successful recognition program.

Some simple non-monetary rewards include:

Verbal praise
Written note
Parking spot
Letter to the family
Volunteering to help an employee for an hour or day
Wash the employee's car in the parking lot during lunch
Let the employee leave early or come in late

Some low-cost ideas include:

Personalized gift certificates (find out what the employee really would use)
Candy bar (Kudos, Hershey Bar - wrapped in a thank you)
Lunch with Manager or President (maybe even choice of other co-workers)
Tickets to an event (sports, theatre, concert)
Lottery ticket
Conceirge Service (car wash, oil change, take-out dinner)
Massage
Movie Tickets
Time off
Lawn care
House cleaning

Remember, HR can only be a conduit for the Recognition and Rewards program. For a recognition and rewards program to succeed, the managers must implement the recognition and need to realize their role in the success of recognition. A great book recently written for managers on this topic is Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works by Berrett and Koehler (May 2009). Sometimes if managers realize the benefit to the organization, they will also be more apt to follow through with the recognition. For example, a recent Gallup Poll reported organizations with employees that are happy with their worklife will realize 22% higher productivity and 27% higher profits, while disengaged workers cost employers $292 billion to $355 billion a year in lower productivity. No need to fret though, in a survey by the National Association of Employee Recognition and World at Work, 96% of US companies believe employee recognition helps improve employee morale and reduce turnover.

Just make sure you are one of those companies that realize employee recognition improves morale and take the time up front to develop the program so you, your employees, and your company can reap the benefits.

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Recruiting 2011 – Are you keeping up? - By Robin Throckmorton

About the Author: Robin Throckmorton

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Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR is the President and Executive HR Strategist with strategic HR, inc., a human resources management consulting firm located in Cincinnati, OH. Strategic HR, inc. was a winner in 2008 and 2009 of the Regional Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Small Business Excellence 10 under 10 Award and a finalist in 2010 for the Small Business Excellence award. Robin has been a generalist and consultant for nearly 20 years with healthcare, manufacturing, service, and non-profit organizations creating solutions to help them recruit and retain the best and the brightest employees.

Robin is the co-author of Bridging the Generations Gap. She is a frequent speaker for professional associations and conferences on the topics of generational differences, retention, recruitment strategies, and labor trends. She is a frequent expert speaker for BLR. Robin has been an adjunct faculty member of the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. She was also recognized as an Enterprising Women of the Year Finalist.

Robin holds a BS from Purdue University in Management and a Master of Arts in Labor and Employment Relations from the University of Cincinnati. Robin is also certified as a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) by the national Human Resources Certification Institute. She regularly volunteers for advisory and leadership roles to help serve the human resources profession.

Click here to visit Robin's website.

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