Articles of Employee Motivation and Recognition

Organizations are beginning to think strategically about incentive and recognition programs.

Written by Bob Saunders

Article appears in September 2006 , Marketing Times

The new incentive process is based on new technology, organizational demographics and the increasing importance of intangible assets such as branding, relationships, engagement and knowledge. 

By Stephen Miller, June 2005

[From SHRM's Compensation & BenefitsForum]

SAN DIEGO—Lack of recognition and praise is the No. 1 reason employees leave an organization, noted MeChelle Callen, SPHR, director of human resource development at Wishard Health Services in Indianapolis, during a Monday session at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition on why “Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness—or Employee Loyalty.”

The Common Thread

Happy Workers, High Returns

The predominate theme in the Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America is the direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction.  Companies today are more conscious of developing strategies to insure that their workforce is happy and excited about the work that they do.  Moreover, that associates are excited about the company they work for.  These are human-centered issues that focus on giving associates what they want and need by ensuring a level of comfort around material need and still providing a balance towards meeting self-actualization needs.  The shift in focus towards a retention and longevity based culture in Corporate America, is a rebound from the downsizing, rightsizing era that is now a memory for the companies on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America list and for the majority of corporations today.