New IRF Study Examines How Top Performing Companies Use Total Rewards to Motivate Employees

By PR Newswire Last updated Aug 8, 2024

US businesses make significant investments in their total rewards packages, which include base compensation, variable compensation, benefits, and non-cash rewards and recognition. Driving Growth Through Total Rewards, a new study produced jointly by the IRF and Insperity, examines how top performing companies design and manage total rewards packages to maximize employee performance.

“The IRF has an extensive selection of research examining the effectiveness of non-cash rewards. Driving Growth Through Total Rewards enables us to look at these non-cash rewards in a broader context,” said Stephanie Harris, IRF president. “The insights presented in this study will help HR and incentive professionals alike deliver impactful and meaningful outcomes from their use of rewards.”

Driving Growth Through Total Rewards explores organizational performance, culture and talent strategy, key outcomes driven by individual components of total rewards, and communication. The study then provides industry-specific analysis for professional services, health, retail, finance, technology, and manufacturing industries. Key insights include:

The insights presented in this study will help HR and incentive professionals alike deliver impactful and meaningful outcomes from their use of rewards.

Top performing companies use base compensation to recruit and retain the best talent. Benefits like paid time off, health insurance, and wellbeing are also key to retention.
Non-cash rewards and recognition help to reinforce the behaviors that drive the business forward.
Top performing companies provide more frequent communication about the total rewards available to employees during recruiting, onboarding, and during annual reviews.
Gift cards and incentive travel are used more frequently by top performing companies.
Top performing companies tend to reward fewer employees with non-cash rewards, but the average per-employee spend is higher than standard performing companies.
To ensure non-cash rewards are directed towards key business outcomes, top performing companies allow each department to determine the budget spending for non-cash rewards and recognition.

Driving Growth Through Total Rewards was produced in partnership with Insperity.

Since 1986 , Insperity’s mission has been to help businesses succeed so communities prosper. Offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace, Insperity is defined by an unrivaled breadth and depth of services and level of care. Through an optimal blend of premium HR service and technology, Insperity delivers the administrative relief, reduced liabilities and better benefit solutions that businesses need for sustained growth. With 2023 revenues of $6.5 billion and more than 90 offices throughout the U.S., Insperity is currently making a difference in thousands of businesses and communities nationwide.

The Incentive Research Foundation funds and promotes research to advance the science and enhance the awareness and appropriate application of motivation and incentives in business and industry globally. The goal is to increase the understanding, effective use, and resultant benefits of incentives to businesses that currently use incentives, as well as businesses interested in improved performance.

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