We surveyed nearly 600 U.S. employees on the state of employee recognition.
67% of organizations have a formal recognition program. Yet 40% of their employees still say the recognition they get doesn't feel meaningful. That gap isn't a mystery—it's a design problem. And it's fixable.
The report covers what's working in employee recognition programs, what's not, and how to design a program that drives employee engagement, motivation, advocacy, and retention.
Inside the report, you'll find:
- The 5 states of recognition—from rare or absent to consistent and embedded—and how each one performs on engagement, retention, and advocacy.
- 5 design flaws quietly undermining most recognition programs, and the fix for each one.
- Personalization matters more than budget. Employees who receive rewards are 4.8x more likely to say their recognition is meaningful.
- The real cost of going unnoticed, including what happens to engagement, motivation, and retention when employees don't feel valued.
- What "consistent and embedded" recognition actually looks like—and why it outperforms every other approach.