While the economic recovery has led many organizations to scale down or abandon monetary rewards programs, limited budgets have also forced many to deny raises to employees who are deserving.

I’ve written about different ways to recognize and motivate employees quite a bit of late; a sentiment that’s echoed by Amy Gallo in her recent post for HBR, “When to Reward Employees with More Responsibility and Money”.

When assessing your talent pool, Gallo notes that it’s critical to consider multiple sources. “Draw not only on your own assessment but talk to others as well. It is especially important to seek input from people who interact with the employees in ways that you don’t.”

In our experience, one of the best ways to do this is to ignore the org chart, embrace the networks that exist amongst knowledge workers in your organization and engender a culture where peers are free to publicly recognize each others contributions to projects of all shapes and sizes.

As Gallo notes, “some people do their job as it is described and some enlarge their job; they innovate around the parameters of the job.”

Catching these employees in the act of a job well done has value beyond the good feeling that employees receive from a pat on the back. This type of social recognition reinforces corporate culture and can build institutional memory.

Featured prominently in Gallo’s post is Susan David , co-director of the Harvard/McLean Institute of Coaching, founding director of Evidence Based Psychology, and a contributor to HBR’s The Conversation blog.

David notes – and I agree – that there are ways to engage employees that are intrinsic, “such as recognizing contributions, providing opportunities to gain new skills or experiences, and supporting autonomy and choice within a job.”

I want you to read the entire piece, but I want to know – in your experience, what truly motivates and engages employees?