by Hadie Perkas, Editor
When the world changes the way it does something, like the shift we’ve seen to remote working, there’s one thing the tech industry can be assured of – they were probably doing it way before everyone else. Today is no different; as far back as 2016, 57% of employees working in computer/information systems spent some of their time working remotely (Gallup, 2016).
Companies are having to move quickly to work out how to reward and incentivise staff that no longer see each other every day. Motivating and inspiring performance virtually comes with certain challenges. What we know though is that the tech industry’s top performers all take getting this right very seriously.
Top Performers are more engaged in incentive programs than their competitors
A study conducted by the IRF this year (2020) found that the tech industry top performers were much more engaged in incentive programs than comparable companies, indicating that more technology executives are recognizing the importance of incentives driving their bottom line. This trend had started even before the pandemic. The relationship between strong business performance and the level of commitment to incentive programs is strong. The study found some very interesting insights into how these companies are using reward and recognition to beat their competition.
1. They design programmes that aim to target both their top achievers and also recognise everyone’s contribution.
2. By centralising reward and recognition, programmes perform better and so do people.
3. By setting pre-defined objectives, and automatic recognition, top performers never miss out.
4. Offering a variety of rewards like gift cards or travel make incentives relevant and flexible.
Top performers invest time and energy into getting their reward and recognition programmes right, offering choice, consistency and reach. This combination is undoubtedly helping top-performing technology companies get a decent return on investment by having staff who know they are rewarded for that success.
