St. Petersburg, Fla. — Feb. 2
While 73 percent of recently surveyed companies said they have an employee-recognition program, most are unsure of how well-satisfied their employees are with the
program.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they do not know how satisfied heir employees are with the program, and more than 15 percent said their employees are not satisfied at all.
The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp — formerly HRI), in onjunction with HR.com, conducted the Employee Recognition Practitioner Consensus survey in January 2007.
A total of 265 organizations participated.
“We know that employee recognition is a key factor in the motivation of mployees — and in the ultimate success of an organization — so it’s surprising to hear just how many companies don’t have a handle on the effectiveness of their recognition programs,” said Jay Jamrog, i4cp senior vice president. “If organizations are going to implement an employee recognition program, they need to have a system of checks and balances in place to make sure it is doing what it is supposed to do.”
When it came to deciding how to dole out rewards, personal performance was pegged as the top criterion for recognition awards at 48.9 percent, followed by extra effort (34.9 percent) and corporate performance (26.4 percent).
While this survey addressed monetary awards, a variety of alternatives to monetary awards were also mentioned, ranging from merchandise, gift cards and luncheons to special merit awards/certificates and days off.
Of companies providing monetary recognition, nearly half (54.5 percent) allocate from 1 percent to 3 percent of the employee’s annual salary for their programs. Of the 265 organizations responding to the survey, 10 allocate less than 1 percent.
This survey did not include information on bonuses, stock ncentives, awards related to service or awards that do not have a dollar value attributed to them.
