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Performance Improvement Council's White Paper Urges Consistent Recognition
May 28, 2009
By William Ng
The Performance Improvement Council of the Incentive Marketing Association today released a new white paper titled “Optimizing Human Capital Assets in Tough Times,” discussing why companies should sustain corporate culture through employees, how the workforce can drive innovation, how companies can reinforce right behaviors, and how to keep best performers in a down economy. The paper concludes that a consistent culture of employee recognition is the key to squeezing the most out of diminished manpower.
“The challenge lies in finding cost-effective ways to unlease human innovation, promote right behaviors, and keep the right people performing to the optimum level despite the economic chaos,” said Mike Ryan, president of the Performance Improvement Council. “Even though raises and bonuses have all but disappeared, we wanted to help employers understand that non-cash recognition can still be a very powerful motivator,” added Karen Renk, executive director of the Incentive Marketing Association.
“Optimizing Human Capital…” cites research concluding that people bond because of a primal need to feel they belong in a successful group—and how recognition enforces that. Moreover, the white paper reports that, according to a CEO survey by IBM, 40 percent of new ideas come from the employee level, versus 14 percent from formal research and development—which the paper argues as evidence that motivated and recognized staff spark innovation in companies. Basically, people want to be recognized for their innovative and business-improvement ideas, and when layoffs are recurrent, employees are motivated to demonstrate their talents.
Third, acknowledging the right behaviors, such as recognizing innovation and creativity, is key to maintaining company and brand culture and, as a result, marketplace standing, according to the paper. And well-designed recognition programs promote such behavior. The dossier mentions that progressive companies are even finding ways to acknowledge how employees contribute to corporate social responsibility, which is increasingly becoming a standard component of company culture.
Last, the white paper cites research linking recognition to engaged workforces and research gaining better understanding of the “soft” benefits of engaged employees, such as morale and general energy level. To achieve this, the paper says, leaders must have a vision of building recognition culture around specific behaviors they want: “Elevating recognition so that it becomes a way of life is an investment…and strategic imperative that will help a firm weather lean times and thrive in a good economy.”
At Incentive Marketing Association's Website, the paper can be downloaded by clicking on the "Research & Information" menu at the top of the page, and then through the link "White Papers and Power Points [sic]."
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