News You Can Use: When in Rome, reward as the Romans do

As a follow-up to EBN’s rewards and recognition coverage this month, I recently had an interesting and highly amusing conversation with Steve Humphreys, CEO of global rewards and recognition firm Grass Roots.

According to Humphreys, crafting rewards programs for global employers creates some challenges. For one, employee gifts like iPods and Amazon.com gift cards apparently aren’t the big crowd pleasers they are here in the States. So, what is a hit?

Based on Grass Roots’ findings, “in France, wine [is the reward] employees seem to value most – no surprise there,” he said. “In India, it’s a box of mangoes; in Spain, it’s a ham; in South Africa, it’s a bed.” And in Humphreys’ native Great Britain, “we’re actually quite boring. Brits value a personal paper shredder.”  

Further – take note, pros – Grass Roots finds that in the United States, employees most covet luxury pillows as a reward. “Probably to sleep away their sadness about the economy,” Humphreys joked.

But it’s not just sorting through beds and fruit boxes that creates a challenge for Humphreys and his team. The legal issues are no picnic, either. “Every country has its own set of legal and tax differences,” he noted. “But part of our job is helping employers smooth those things out.”