The Future of Employee Rewards & Recognition in 2022

The past few years have been consistently challenging times for the entire world. The difficulties we’ve encountered have taken their toll on us as individuals and work, workplace culture, and employee engagement have been forced to pivot. Remote work, flexible scheduling, and all kinds of program changes needed to come more quickly than anticipated in many industries.

Employee experience, employee happiness, and rewards & recognition are more important today than they have ever been, and the trends in employee recognition we’ve seen in the last year only strengthen this idea.

The Future of Work is at Home

Nearly 42% of the U.S. economy is now working remotely, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote work has been gaining steam in the last decade with many companies offering it as a perk, but now it’s a necessity in order to attract and retain the best talent. Remote work is projected to continue into the future either as a hybrid schedule of office and remote work or exclusively remote work.

Remote work is here to stay, and will continue to grow in many industries. Whether your workforce is remote or in person it is important to utilize every tool at your disposal to increase engagement and improve employee experience—and there is no better tool we’ve seen than recognition. Many organizations have increased their recognition programs through this last year—a testament to the power of recognition in keeping teams united, supporting individuals, and building workplace culture no matter where employees are working.

Personalized Recognitions and Rewards

People in today’s world are used to a certain level of choice. Nearly endless entertainment options, food choices in any given area, and the millions of products available on Amazon all provide more choice than ever before in human history. Most of the time people have nearly instantaneous access to whatever they want—or they can have it shipped directly to their door in a matter of days.

If the world offers such convenience and choice in so many different ways, why has it taken the modern workplace so long to catch up? As an example, there are many organizations still using rewards and recognition programs that have been in place for decades, and employee experience is suffering as a result.

Employees should expect the same choice and convenience in their employee rewards that they have in daily life, even if they don’t know it. Thankfully more companies are catching on to this idea.

Instead of offering a limited catalog of hugely marked up items, organizations can now offer the same limitless choice and availability that employees experience outside of work. Being able to choose their own rewards using a familiar experience like Amazon is becoming a competitive edge that organizations are taking advantage of in growing numbers. Companies are showing that they care about their employees—and when employees feel cared for, they care more.

Employee Rewards As Part of Compensation & Bonus Structure

Reward Compensation is a new trend in the market. The idea is that on top of regular salary employees receive an added bonus they can use to choose their own rewards. This compensation, often called "Bonus Compensation" or "Experience Pay" is given on a regular basis instead of as one large payout at the end of the year.

Retention is an issue for so many organizations as we stare down the Great Resignation, and the current bonus structure of giving a payout during the Holidays isn't enough to attract and retain good employees. The shift from looking at rewards as a nice, fluffy perk to a part of total compensation has been a long time coming, and it's here to stay.

Greater Emphasis on Employee Well-Being

Employee well-being initiatives are becoming more integral as part of an organization's toolkit to support employee wellness. Ensuring employees have what they need to live well in every will also help attract and retain talent in the same vein as reward compensation. In addition, focusing on employee wellness will increase employee satisfaction and overall ROI as companies support the well-being of their employees.

Expanded Flexible Work Policies

Remote work will undoubtedly continue into the future, and it will continue to grow into flexible work policies. If they aren’t currently offering a flexible work schedule, organizations will soon realize that offering this to employees will both attract and retain good talent. Though it may be a difficult transition, companies need to realize that work will continue to be done as employees rebalance their workload and synchronize their work with their teammates no matter where they are.

Daily Feedback Becomes the Norm

Because work schedules are going to continue and expand in flexibility, daily feedback will become even more vital as teams synchronize their work. Feedback has always been a part of work, and its importance continues to grow as we move into the future. Tools that facilitate this feedback such as Monday.com, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and many more will continue to play an integral (and perhaps more prominent) role in daily work.

Recognition and the Future of Work

Moving forward with life and work can be a daunting prospect. Things such as the Great Resignation are forcing us to rethink how we attract and retain employees, and how we look at building a company culture that contributes to employee happiness as much as it does to employee’s wallets.

No matter what lies ahead it’s important to recognize that the lifeblood of any organization is its people. As we look ahead, let's not just focus on the process, but build a culture of appreciation that will weather whatever 2022 has in store.