Deliver on reward promises to boost motivation

Employers that deliver on their promises of reward will find that their employees are more committed to their company and are motivated to help it succeed.

This is according to 69% of respondents to Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork’s 2007/2008 Global strategic rewards study, who say that their employer does just that.†

The survey also shows that 37% of the 13,000 respondents state that stress is the main reason they would leave a workplace. More than half (52%) of the 946 employers surveyed felt that insufficient pay is the main reason why staff leave, although only a third (33%) of staff would leave an organisation on account of their base salary.

Of employees who are satisfied with their work-life balance and stress levels, 86% are inclined to stay with their company, and 88% are more likely to recommend it as a place to work. However, nearly two thirds (64%) of staff would stay in a company even if they were unhappy with their stress levels and work-life balance, while more than half of dissatisfied employees (55%) would recommend their organisation as a place to work.

The study shows that there is little variance in trends around the world with regards to attracting critical-skill employees. Seven-out-of-ten of employers have difficulty attracting critical-skill workers, while two thirds report difficulty in attracting top-performing workers.

Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards at Watson Wyatt, said: “When workers see that their performance has a real impact on rewards and that management follows it through, employees become more committed and confident about the opportunities with their employer.”