Building Your Compensation House? Don't Forget the Recognition "Flair"

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to participate with several Compensation Cafe bloggers on a BlogTalk Radio show hosted by Paul Hebert of i2i on "Compensation and Rewards: What's the Difference?" The conversation flowed across several topics, but one of the most interesting was Total Rewards - how compensation and recognition/incentives intersect.

The way I look at it (as I said on the show) is the compensation side of the house is like the architects and builders who put the walls and floors of a building into place.These are essential. You need people to show up at work, and they won't without proper compensation. But once you've got that foundation in place, to make it a great workplace, you need interior designers - you need some color and flair. This is where the competitive differentiator of the future lies, with those who understand a fair compensation structure combined with the flair that makes work more than a place to "pick up my paycheck and leave."

Think about this. If you're investing the money to "add flair" in your home, would you focus only on the entry hallway, or stop at just the kitchen? Of course not! You'd want the entire house to look coordinated and well decorated throughout. The same is true with Total Rewards programs - don't limit participation in Total Rewards components to just the top performers or high potential employees. Involve everyone.

In fact, research supports this. In May, the McGill Institute released research that found "profit at the bottom of the ladder." The key findings of this report - treat the people at the bottom right and you'll dramatically improve productivity, increase returns and reduce financial costs - is strong validation of the need to eliminate elitist recognition and rewards programs that target only the top 10% and expand the opportunity to recognize and be recognized to all employees at all levels.

This recent research supports findings from a Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement report from nearly a year ago on "Putting People First." This research highlighted an alternative to employee engagement - employee enrichment - that revolves around helping employees have better lives.

"People are fundamentally concerned about the physical, psychological and social aspects of their lives in ways that span both the workplace and their private lives. The greatest value organizations can provide employees is to move beyond the basics of regular compensation and benefits to encompass personal growth.

"The idea of promoting personal growth among employees shifts the focus of leadership away from strictly marketplace outcomes and moves it towards the enrichment of people's lives. Marketplace and financial performance are not abandoned, they are just re-conceptualized as outcomes of the actions of people in the workplace. Personal growth can take a variety of forms including education support, training programs, physical and mental wellness efforts, rewards and incentive programs."

View this nascent post-recession economy as a period for implementing new approaches to increase business productivity and motivation within your workforce. Compensation is returning to normal, but that is only restoring a solid foundation and sturdy walls for employees. Engagement techniques are producing measurable results, but employees are still stressed by the fallout from actions taken during the recession. Help managers who are at a loss on how to improve employee engagement and productivity in these continuing difficult times. Add "flair" with enrichment efforts and simple appreciation to show workers, at all levels, how much you value them and their efforts.

As Globoforce’s CMO & Head of Strategic Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. His articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin, Montreal and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @globoforce.

Comments

[Laura Schroeder]

So true. My husband laughed at me when we moved into our house because the very first thing I did before unpacking was put a tablecloth on the table. Since the house was already built, I wanted flair!