Research proves that participation in wellness programs increases when employees receive tangible incentives.

Smart employers are already refining their strategies for retaining and recruiting top talent when employees become more mobile.

According to new data released from HR Solutions, Inc., a Human Capital Management Firm, the key driver of Employee Engagement is recognition. Making small changes, such as encouraging managers to recognize their employees on a daily basis, can have an enormous impact on Employee Engagement levels within an organization.

An article in the August 20 Chicago Tribune by Bruce Japsen points out that while new health care legislation will soon mandate insurers and employers to fully cover preseventive services for workers, employees need additional motivation to take advantage of these benefits. And that’s what IMA and the Incentive Federation have been telling Congress in our effort to introduce legislation that will offer both employers and employees tax advantages for wellness based incentive programs.

There are six basic steps of program construction: Define objective(s) quantitatively; convert to rules that drive measurable behaviors to the objective(s); communicate and promote with frequency and flair; adjust qualifications to changing competitive landscape; do final impact and ROI/ROO analyses; and deliver the dream as promised to ensure success of future programs.

Against this unsettling backdrop, the importance of employee engagement has become critical.  Smart business leaders know that the skills and attitudes of their employees can be the very thing that sets them apart from thee competition.  So, is it any wonder that today’s executives and HR professionals are seriously examining what they can do to better motivate employees through the recovery?

Employee Recognition and Rewards Programs Can Generate Significate Revenue and Profits
Attracting and retaining the very best talent is a key element to stability at any time, but it is especially so during a recession. Successful companies know that they must have the entire team fully engaged in the success of “their” company during challenging times. Creating a climate of appreciation, where efforts are recognized and potentially rewarded, can go a long way toward strengthening the process of engagement and improving the outlook for the company as a whole.

This Whitepaper takes an excitingly different look at ways to sustain employee engagement in companies caught up in the challenges of today’s economic downturn. Despite shrinking revenues and unrelenting expenses, the analysis concludes that employees are still the biggest contributing factor for success or failure in the drive to do more with less.

A Look at the Downstream Effects on Market Response & Financial Performance
The goal of the survey conducted was to understand the organizational characteristics that best engender the necessary employee attitudes and behaviors to drive an organization’s market and financial success.

This research solidified our understanding of the direct and indirect outcomes affected by employee satisfaction and engagement – namely, customer satisfaction (direct for employee satisfaction), customer behavior (indirect for employee engagement), and financial performance (indirect for both employee satisfaction and engagement).