news
UPFRONT
CANADIAN ORGANIZATIONS’
REWARDS AND RECOGNITION
PROGRAMS DON’T MATCH
MILLENNIAL WORKFORCE
REALITIES
Long-service recognition is the most prevalent
type of rewards and recognition
program in place in Canadian organizations.
However, a new Conference Board
of Canada study suggests that these
programs may not appeal to younger
generations who typically have shorter
tenures.
Previous research by the Conference
Board has indicated that Millennials
could have an average of five different employers
over a 10-year span. Given this,
these Millennials would not be at an organization
long enough to be eligible for
long-service recognition. This may explain
why only 37 per cent of responding
organizations agreed that their rewards
programs consider multiple generations
in the workforce.
“The majority of organizations use their
rewards and recognition programs to increase
employee engagement. If this is
the primary objective of the program, it
is important to look at what drives engagement,”
said Nicole Stewart, principal
at the Compensation Research Centre
for The Conference Board of Canada.
“There also appears to be a disconnect between
where organizations are allocating
the bulk of their recognition budgets and
what might bring them the best value in
terms of employee satisfaction.”
Almost 90 per cent of responding organizations
have some type of formal
rewards and recognition program in place.
In 2016, Canadian organizations spent,
on average, $139 per full-time employee
(FTE) on rewards and recognition. These
programs are more prevalent in the public
sector compared to the private sector;
however, spending on rewards and recognition
in the private sector ($161 per
FTE) is also almost double that in the
public sector ($84 per FTE).
Among these organizations, longservice
recognition is the most common at
96 per cent, followed by retirement recognition
at 64 per cent. Performance-based
rewards and recognition programs, which
include manager-to-employee, peer-topeer
and corporate recognition are also
prevalent. The most common rewards
provided as part of peer-to-peer recognition
programs are non-monetary, such as
e-cards or handwritten notes.
While long-service recognition is
perceived as fair and important for
honouring corporate memory and loyalty,
one of the major drawbacks of this
program is that it becomes difficult to
attach to specific accomplishments or
contributions when they occur. On average,
organizations spend over half
their recognition budgets on long
service. However, those that have
performance-based recognition report
that their employees are more satisfied
with their programs.
“Recognition of outstanding effort
and achievement does not need to be
costly and programs can be tailored to
suit a changing workforce landscape.
In fact, many organizations have found
that they receive the most value from
their peer-to-peer programs because
of both the low cost and reach,” said
Stewart.
The Power of Appreciation:
Rewards and Recognition Practices
in Canadian Organizations summarizes
the findings of a survey
conducted between June and
August 2016 that received responses
from HR practitioners
from a total of 383 organizations
across Canada.
ImageFlow/Shutterstock.com
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ AUGUST 2017 ❚ 11