Recognition & Rewards

What do employees want from their managers?

05/14/2010

Inspiring leader … Quiet problem-solver … Compassionate mentor. Different employees crave different things from their managers. Unless you’re a mind reader, it’s impossible to know exactly what your staff wants from you. But a survey of 500 U.S. employees—published in the book, What People Want, by Terry Bacon—reveals what matters most to workers.

9 simple ways to improve your wellness program

05/13/2010

One side effect of the recession: Cash-strapped employees are eating more fast food, exercising less and ignoring their health, studies show. All the more reason to refocus your wellness efforts. Nine lessons from recent studies:

Can we limit cash awards to just some employees?

04/28/2010

Q. When we win contracts, we recognize employees with cash awards. But these awards may be given only to the select few employees who were involved. Is this legally OK?

Scooter Store ranks fun among its top goals

03/31/2010

One of The Scooter Store’s six core ideologies, along with “focus on the customer” and “achieve financial success,” is “have fun.” To that end, the New Braunfels, Texas-based supplier of scooters and power chairs employs a VP of Celebration and schedules dozens of celebrations every year.

10 warning signs of low morale … and 8 ways to boost it

02/09/2010

With workplace budgets still tight, recession-weary employees need a morale booster now more than ever. It’s time to use a little creativity to reward workers—without breaking the bank.

5 ways to extract great ideas from your employees

01/26/2010

Employees are often the best sources of ideas because they are closest to the daily details of the organization. But too often, employees are sitting on great cost-saving, business-generating ideas because they’ve never been specifically asked. Here are five strategies to help encourage their input.

Training, recognition keep turnover under control

01/14/2010

In an industry that suffers from 100% annual turnover, Universal Protection Service in Santa Ana, Calif., boasts a much lower rate: 65%. “Anyone in HR will be aghast at that rate because it sounds horrendous,” admits HR VP Paula Malone, “but compared with the industry average, it’s actually good.” The reasons for the relatively low turnover: continuous training and on-the-spot recognition.

10-year employees get big payoff at Lockton

12/31/2009

Employees who celebrate 10 years with Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton Cos. get a big thank-you from company brass: a Rolex watch. The insurance broker gave away more than 60 of the high-end watches in 2009, according to Communications Director Dean Davison.

Companywide bonuses take wing at American Airlines

12/21/2009

Business and vacation travel may be down, but American Airlines says customer satisfaction is up—and is rewarding about 71,000 employees for making it happen. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline awarded $10.6 million—about $150 per employee—to staffers who helped the organization achieve its fourth-quarter 2009 customer satisfaction goals.

Don’t let IRS benefit from your awards program

12/14/2009

Nothing takes the shine off an employee achievement award faster than having to pay taxes on its value. However, it’s entirely possible to design a recognition program that doesn’t cause tax liability for your employees—and is fully tax deductible for your organization.