Only 33 percent of companies believe they communicate their reward philosophy and strategy effectively to employees, according to a new study. Yet 80 percent believe reward communication has an effective or very effective impact on the organization’s performance, employee satisfaction, retention and employee engagement.

Anyone see the issue here?

If only a third of companies believed their marketing efforts were effective but eight in ten knew that marketing was the key to their survival, heads would roll.  If only one in three executives were satisfied that their salespeople were adequately explaining the “value equation” of their company’s products and services, there would be blood in the water.   And if only a third of companies were comfortable that R&D was working on company initiatives that fit the companies mission, vision, values, and future strategies, two thirds of the heads of R&D would be out looking for new jobs.

But we’re only talkin’ about people.  A “cost of doing business”.  A necessary evil.

Shameful.

But not at all surprising.  It’s a problem of planning  and execution.

I can bet you that the top performers, the 20 percent of the workforce who are responsible for 80 percent of what “gets done” in their organization are clear on the reward philosophy… or the lack of it.  Jim Collins, author of “From Good to Great”, says: “Retaining top performers is essential in today’s competitive market. Top performers almost always exceed the performance of average workers by at least 25 percent. Cultivating top performers nets an instant gain and gives your organization the competitive edge.”

Jim’s a smart guy…  Do you have someone just as smart in your organization?