When Monetary Rewards Are Not Possible

Stacy Klund

December 15, 2003

Events triggering trouble

Low unemployment rate makes hiring difficult (2000 & 2001)

Attack on the World Trade Center (2001)

Recession lowers company earnings (2002)

War tightens up corporate spending (2003)

Companies reduce spending by:

Freezing raises

Halting hiring

Cutting budgets

Delaying projects

When cash is not available . . .

How does a company motivate employees?

How does a company retain employees?

Research question

Do employees perceive non-monetary rewards and recognition as positive influencers of their job performance and retention?

Goals of this research

What non-monetary items are valued most?

Do the same items both motivate and retain employees?

Survey

Population Client Service Technologies in Minneapolis 102 employees Convenience sample

Design Paper survey Inter-office mail 40 questions

Question categories

Work-life balance

Job characteristics

Recognition

Celebrations

Rewards

Team and community involvement

Relationship with leader

Survey items

I appreciate receiving public recognition for accomplishments in a group setting

It is important for me to work on assignments that increase the depth of my skills

Survey response

67 surveys returned

Response rate of 66%

Favorable responses reported

Work-life balance

Flexible schedule (99%)

Leader support (88%)

Remote location (85%)

Flexible job structure (84%)

Part-time option (54%)

Job characteristics

Meaningful work (94%)

Challenging assignments (93%)

Opportunity of new skills (93%)

Increase in depth of skills (91%)

Preparation for different career path (79%)

Formal training (52%)

Recognition

Leader verbal recognition (95%)

Leader written recognition (94%)

Peer verbal recognition (92%)

Peer written recognition (87%)

Company written recognition (82%)

Company verbal recognition (61%)

Celebrations

Team or project celebrations (93%)

Team lunches (78%)

Team outings (75%)

Team building activities (63%)

Department celebrations (61%)

Company-wide celebrations (39%)

Motivation and retention affected by same characteristics

Flexible work schedule

Challenging projects/assignments

Meaningful work

Opportunities to gain new skills

Paid time off

Answer to the research question

Do employees perceive non-monetary rewards and recognition as positive influencers of their job performance and retention?

Yes!

Recommendations for leadership group

Support flexible work arrangements

Create challenging projects and assignments

Recognize your employees

Celebrate with your team

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Questions?