Bob Nelson, Employee Motivation Expert, once said: "People may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition." What impacts employee engagement? What are the signs of effective employee reward and recognition programs? You will find answers to this and many other important questions in this presentation.

1. what matters to today’s workforce?
5
Trends Impacting Employee
Engagement

2. Cash is NOT King
Contrary to a long-held popular belief, cash is not the best motivator in the
reward and recognition world. Studies show that employees perform at
higher levels when receiving tangible rewards.
A participant study by the Incentive Research Foundation reports that
when employees were given a choice between a reward that aligned with
their own experiential preferences and cash, they chose the experience,
especially for larger rewards.
99% of the participants in the study had unique reward preferences, thus
confirming the need to offer a variety of choices for program recipients.
The study also found that for 40–50% of the participants, the recognition
experience had as much to do with the delivery of the reward as the
reward itself. Public recognition by company leadership had the most
impact for the participants.

3. 1Company Culture is as Important as Competitive Co
When it Comes to Attracting & Retaining Talent
trend

4. Of course a competitive salary and benefits plan are important, but they
are the baseline now. Today’s employees want to understand the culture of
the organization and how that relates to them on a personal & professional
level. Employee engagement and recognition programs don’t just
contribute to the culture of an organization, they help to shape it.
According to World at Work, 14% of companies already feature their
recognition programs prominently when recruiting.
Engaged in what?
Gallup reports that 87% of employees are not engaged at work. (These are
the employees who complain, dread heading into work, and don’t
contribute). This is not only detrimental to the mood of the organization,
but translates to lower sales and market share. It’s expensive to replace
and train new workers, so a highly engaged workforce is economical.
Companies with effective recognition programs have higher employee
engagement and enjoy 31% lower voluntary turnover rates.
The power of employee
engagement

5. mpanies with HIGHLY-ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
r peers by 147% in earnings per share. –Gallup

6. Employees pay attention to what is measured. The behavior that
management recognizes and rewards sends a clear message to employees
as to what is important.
A 2016 study reports that 87% of employee recognition programs focus on
tenure rather than performance. Employees are not likely to go above and
beyond when they see that longevity is what matters most.
When company leaders thoughtfully design incentive and recognition
programs based on performance, they are demonstrating that they value
results. Just showing up is not a result.
Recognizing what?

7. 2Workplaces Need to Provide Social Recognition
Peer-to-Peer Employee Recognition is Important to P
trend

8. Today’s worker has grown up sharing every detail of their life on social
channels — and this includes accomplishments at work. With 24/7 access
to mobile devices, the line between the professional and personal is
blurred.
It’s no longer likely that employees will create a clear separation between
their work life and their personal life. These employees want to be
recognized on familiar social channels and they appreciate being
recognized for their accomplishments by their peers.
Because managers can’t be everywhere, peer-to-peer recognition allows
co-workers to share stories of the ways in which their colleagues
demonstrate company values, contribute to corporate objectives, take care
of customers, or go above and beyond.
Living in a Facebook and
Instagram world

9. No company, small or large, can win over the long run
without energized employees who BELIEVE in the
MISSION and UNDERSTAND how to ACHIEVE it.
–Jack Welch, former CEO of GE

10. Why should you care about
social recognition?
Because the recognition is not coming from management, it’s more
important than ever to decide what you want to accomplish with an
engagement program and communicate clear guidelines to your
employees.
Social recognition helps to:
• Improve employee morale and encourage collaboration
• Improve retention
• Increase employee engagement
• Improve performance
• Develop and nurture key talent
The good news is that while many organizations continue to rely on
monetary rewards to motivate employees, non-monetary, peer-to-peer
employee recognition not only costs less in the short term, but provides a
significant return in the long run.

11. 3It’s Always Been About Timing – Utilize Technology!
Reward Desired Behavior as Close to the Actual Eve
trend

12. Technology and social platforms allow for peer-to-peer recognition to be
immediate and easily shared. As the line between personal and business
blurs, it’s important to have technology in place that lets peers
acknowledge each other on the social platforms that they use every day.
For this reason, the trend is toward recognition programs using web
applications and native mobile apps with video and editing capabilities. Co-
workers are able to tell stories in real time and personalize the experience.
• Collaborative Celebration
• Content-Rich Experiences
• Ongoing Social Interactions
• Transparency
• Immediacy
• Instantaneous Recognition
How does the technology
help?

13. EMPLOYEES exactly as you want them to treat
best customers. – Stephen R. Covey, Educator

14. 4Authenticity is Key
Catalogs with Toasters and Organizers don’t Feel as
trend

15. Recognition needs to be authentic for it to be meaningful and impactful.
This has never been more relevant than with the current generation of
employees who are naturally skeptical.
Saying "we appreciate you for your contributions of 5, 10 and 15 years of
service with the Company” by sending a print catalog full of toasters,
coffee pots and cheap jewelry will likely not have the desired effect.
Worse, these efforts (and money) can backfire and employees can
perceive the "symbolic gift" for years of service as saying, "is this all I'm
worth"?
When building out recognition programs, companies must look at how the
program experience will impact employees' perceptions and take a good
look at how authentic the program elements really stack up.
An outside perspective

16. TPLACE you must first win in the WORKPLACE.
– Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup

17. • Don't limit awards to just items in a catalog. Consider a broader view:
Charity Contributions, PTO, Lunch with the Boss.
• Involve Management in a definitive way in the process of celebrating
and recognizing Milestones. A 5-minute call from a manager can be
worth more than the monetary value equivalent.
• Publicly celebrate by making Milestone celebrations something that
peers can comment / notice.
• Don't wait 5 years if the turnover rate of your organization is highest
in the first 1-2 years. Not all Milestone anniversary's require a
monetary award.
Ways to impact authenticity

18. 5Give the Gift of Choice
It’s Important to Make Employees Feel Empowered
trend

19. Have you ever tried to purchase a gift for a family member or close friend
and found yourself stumped by the challenge of simply not knowing what
to give them? If we struggle in gifting those nearest and dearest to us, how
can we be successful at choosing a gift for employees? Especially when
considering all their various ages, stages, and interests?
The most successful recognition programs provide a breadth of options so
employees may feel empowered. This may include the traditional and the
creative:
• Charitable Donations
• Branded Items
• Paid Time Off
• Merchandise
• Retail Gift Cards
• Travel / Experiences
The skill of being relevant

20. ob for MORE MONEY, but they often leave it for
ON. – Bob Nelson, Employee Motivation Expert

21. Thanks for reading!
Visit our website for more
valuable content on
employee engagement and
motivation programs:
https://online-rewards.com/

22. .
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