The use of cash as a reward is far less important than a simple thank you, according to a new online survey of 762 employees conducted by Nelson Motivation in November. When asked what matters most to them, respondents chose personal, written, electronic, and public praise (in that order) over cash bonuses.
When asked, “What is most important to you?” when it comes to recognition practices, 55 percent of the survey's respondents said that being verbally praised for good work was “extremely” important; 37 percent said that written praise was extremely important; 28 percent chose electronic praise; and 21 percent chose public praise. That's in contrast to only 16 percent who consider cash to be the most important form of praise.
Two common awards — achievement awards and celebrations including food — seem to be of little interest to the respondents: Only 21 percent consider achievement awards to be extremely important, and a mere 12 percent feel that the staff luncheon is an adequate form of recognition.
