Less than a quarter of respondents have received a reward or incentive from their employer in the past two years, according to research by global payments organisation Ixaris.
Its 2013 Study of rewards and incentives, which surveyed 4,800 employees in the UK, US, Canada, France and Germany, found that more than 80% of respondents felt a reward programme would communicate that their work is properly valued.
Among UK respondents who had received a reward or incentive, 41% received a retail gift card, 27% received cash, 17% received a product, 12% received an ‘open’ gift card, which can be spent at multiple retailers, and 3% had received an experience gift.
Employees were also asked how they would rank their award options. In the UK, ‘open’ gift cards were the top choice, cited by 34%, followed closely by cash (33%), retail gift cards (28%), products (26%) and experience gifts (24%).
John Chaplin, chairman of Ixaris, said: “Employers that recognise the efforts of their employees with rewards benefit from a more motivated workforce.
“However, for incentives programmes to be as effective as possible, employers need to balance the desires of award recipients with the interests of the organisation.”
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