People Insights Model: Recognition & Reward

Overview

Recognition & Reward refers to whether employees feel appreciated for their contributions to the organization. This appreciation can take the form of tangible rewards, such as monetary compensation and benefits, or non-tangible rewards, such as recognition and feeling valued by their team, manager, leader, or other members of the organization. Employees who feel recognized and rewarded for their contributions are more likely to be engaged and stay with the organization. 

Perceptyx Research and Insights

• Stop Giving “Gift Card” Feedback. Start Giving Meaningful Recognition (Nov 2024):

  • The cost of generic, ineffective recognition is staggering – organizations lose over $6 million per 1,000 employees due to unhappy, unmotivated staff who stay in their roles. Additionally, 79% of people who quit cite “lack of appreciation” as their reason for leaving. 

• In healthcare settings, Perceptyx research found that while 3 in 5 employees feel recognized for their contributions, there are significant disparities in how different groups experience recognition. 

• How Employee Listening Can Foster a Culture of Recognition (March 2024):

  • Being recognized by a peer has 2x the positive impact on an employee’s morale and motivation as recognition coming from a supervisor. This insight challenges traditional top-down recognition models and suggests that peer-to-peer programs could be more effective in boosting employee morale and engagement while also improving overall team dynamics. 

• In small groups, recognizing a third of top performers led to a more substantial overall performance increase compared to either recognizing all employees or only the single best performer. This indicates that a targeted recognition approach, which highlights top achievers without overlooking the contributions of the broader team, can optimize performance and motivation levels across the board.

Key Action Planning Considerations

Effective recognition and reward practices are essential for motivating employees and fostering a culture of appreciation. Managers play a pivotal role in ensuring that recognition is meaningful, timely, and aligned with individual and team contributions. The following considerations provide actionable strategies to help managers create a positive work environment where employees feel valued, fairly compensated, and inspired to perform at their best.

• Providing Meaningful Recognition: Regularly acknowledge individual and team accomplishments in meaningful and specific ways, such as through personalized notes, team shoutouts, or recognition in meetings. Don’t overlook the power of peer-to-peer recognition and positively reinforce the behavior when observed. Celebrating successes fosters a culture where employees feel appreciated and motivated to maintain high performance.

• Helping Employees Feel Valued: Demonstrate value by engaging with employees in regular conversations, actively listening to their input, and recognizing their unique contributions to team and organizational success. When employees feel heard and appreciated, they are more likely to feel a sense of belonging.

• Fairness of Pay: You can support pay equity by being transparent around compensation structures and advocating for equitable pay adjustments when discrepancies arise. By actively listening to employee concerns and collaborating with HR to address them, you can gain trust and model a commitment to fairness and integrity.

• Benefits Satisfaction: Support benefits satisfaction by regularly seeking employee feedback on current offerings and sharing suggestions with HR to ensure benefits align with your employees’ needs. By staying informed about available resources and advocating for improvements, you can show how you value your employees’ well-being.