Estimates from organizations, including Mercer and WorldatWork, put next year’s average U.S. base salary increase at approximately 3% – a healthy gain for most of the industrial world, which actually saw pay drop this year, but a disappointing “new normal” for benefits professionals who remember sunnier days. With budgets for rewards and compensation stretched like sausage casings – thin and fragile, but holding together – companies will be looking for even more low- and no-cost ways to recognize top performers than they have in the past.
That works just fine for David Olson and Dr. Bob Nelson, co-founders of Recognition PRO. Olson and Nelson have spent years tracking incentivized behavior and corporate rewards, and, like the song says, the best things in life are free. They say the best-motivated workforces aren’t driven by plaques, coffee mugs or even bonuses; they’re driven by deeper personal connections with their managers and co-workers, and the kind of personalized recognition that comes out of that.
