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Recognition ROI Study Offers Engagement "Best Principles"

A study focusing on the return on investment in coming from recognition programs highlights several “best principles” contributing to program success.

Employee recognition programs, when used as part of a "Total Rewards" package, can dramatically improve employee engagement and job performance, as well as positively impact business results, according to research announced at the Motivation Show by  the Human Capital Institute, the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, and the Incentive Research Foundation.

The report, "The Value and ROI in Employee Recognition: Linking Recognition to Improved Job Performance and Increased Business Value—The Current State and Future Needs," uncovers significant information about workplace recognition. Specifically, it offers the following "best principles" for developing and implementing recognition programs to heighten employee engagement, improve job performance and increase business value.

• Use both formal and informal recognition to build a “culture of recognition.”
• Provide a wide variety of recognition rewards—to appeal to individual preferences.
• Emphasize recognition of increased quality in performance, instead of simply quantity of effort.
• Recognize workers regularly—sporadic recognition may be worse than no recognition.
• Link reward activities to specific business objectives and/or cultural values.
• Measure the cost of the recognition reward system and the benefits gained.

The authors of the study will discuss their findings during a free Masters-level HCI Webcast, to be broadcast live Wed., Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. ET. For more information or to register for the free webcast, visit www.hci.org or call 1.866.538.1909.