August 5, 2012 | By Mike Ryan
It is not uncommon for companies to have multiple non-cash award offerings in place operating across the enterprise. They may be the remnants of legacy recognition programs that have survived a merger, an acquisition or a series of organizational realignments. Or they may simply be regional efforts; conceived by a local facility manager and administered from the desktop of local support staff. In fact, a recent audit conducted by Madison suggests that for every reward program known to headquarters, another four to five are operating under the radar. And while all this activity may reflect a growing confidence in the power of sales incentives and employee recognition programs to motivate people, they also represent a missed opportunity for businesses that, in the end, rely on them to propel performance and ignite engagement.