Recognizing and Rewarding Employees

The Changing Work Environment

To recognize and reward employees appropriately, you need to consider the new work environment. Due to mergers and acquisitions, corporate downsizing and employment-at-will policies, job permanence and workplace loyalty are outdated concepts. Increasingly, workers are employed on a part-time or temporary basis. Even full-time employees must continually prove their value. To motivate these workers into caring about higher productivity - much less providing it - managers need to use a deliberate mix of reward and recognition.

Given the uncertainty surrounding continued employment, workers now want more than money. Today’s employees want:

• Work that builds technical, professional knowledge, and thus boosts their marketability.
• Work that’s interesting, challenging, fun and fulfilling.
• Flexible work environments so they can lead full personal lives.
• Rewards, such as a piece of the action, that recognize both solo and team contributions.
• Personal endorsements that contribute to their self esteem and market value.

Managers need to recognize the diversity of the workforce, so they can adapt...