Recognize This! – Increasing concerns around risks raised through reward practices now include employee engagement near the top.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD – similar to SHRM in the US) recently released research on Reward Risks. Considering the workplace environment, state of retention and recruiting, these were the top two concerns reported by reward professionals:

1. Employees don’t appreciate the value of total reward offering
2. Reward not engaging employees

“Rewards engaging employees” has moved up to the second slot from seventh place in 2011. That could have something to do with the impact of the UK’s Employee Engagement Task Force raising the visibility of engagement as well as offering tools and resources for engagement improvement (and more knowledge on how rewards should align to help address engagement).

I commented on these findings:

Quotation

“The CIPD’s findings echo Globoforce’s own discoveries from its UK Workforce Mood Tracker survey. While making employees feel appreciated through rewards can have a positive effect on employee engagement, simply recognising their contribution can have a more meaningful impact.

“More than two-thirds (70 per cent) of Globoforce’s respondents felt that being recognised made them more satisfied with their work and position within a company indicating that it is an important area for organisations to focus on.”

All of this made me have a think about this advice out of web design company Ciplex about making the line between money and recognition very clear.

Quotation

“Employees spend a major part of their lives at work. They should be there because they love their jobs and not because they get paid to come in. That’s the reason why, at Ciplex, we don’t give bonuses, don’t have reviews tied to raises, and, simply, do not use money as a motivator. We take money off the table–from the hiring process to daily operations. In return, we have the most enthusiastic, dedicated employees, who truly give a $%*# about our company. In fact, they often get offers for higher-paying jobs and turn them down.”

That’s the power of strategic, social recognition – to recognize and, yes, reward employees, but do so in a way that uses a completely different “currency” than the cash of compensation and with a very clear focus on creating a culture in which employees want to engage.

What are your top concerns for rewards in your organization in the coming year?