"Employee recognition leads to a lot more employee retention," he insisted.
Many companies, industry executives say, have eliminated or slashed their employee recognition programs because of the sluggish economy.
Some people may think such employee recognition programs are corny, but it's simple psychology: people commit more acts of kindness when they are appreciated for them.
Until it came to light Tuesday, Wells Fargo, which received $25 billion in federal funds, was blithely planning a series of "employee recognition outings" to Las Vegas luxury hotels this month.
Something doesn't feel right," John Stumpf, the president and chief executive of Wells Fargo wrote in an open letter defending their two decades of four-day employee recognition "events".
Those that want rewards to be cost-effective but memorable are seeking the services of firms that specialise in employee recognition, such as O.C. Tanner.
The impression that "every employee recognition event is a junket, a boondoggle, a waste, or that it's for highly paid executives," he said, was "nonsense".
So they would eliminate employee recognition awards, as well as public rankings of top performers, contests among departments or individuals, merit raises from a small pool -- anything in which the winners are few and everyone else is pronounced a loser.
In a long letter, he blames misleading news articles that create the impression that "every employee recognition event is a junket, a boondoggle, a waste, or that it's for highly paid executives.
Work.com is baked in for employee recognition.
