How different are the US and UK reward and recognition markets?

Service recognition rewards typically start after one year in the US and a manager always presents them, but few American companies give staff an end of year reward at Christmas.

These are just some of the many differences highlighted in the comparison of the US and UK reward and recognition industry by Michael C Fina Worldwide, the world’s first global recognition company, formed recently by Michael C Fina Inc. and Longservice.com.

The research was carried out by Jonathan Haskell, CEO of Michael C Fina Worldwide, responsible for Europe and Middle Eastern areas. He compared the UK with the observations of the Michael C Fina Inc. team in New York.

There were several significant differences but there were also many areas of similarity between the US and UK, comments Mr Haskell. Both agree that the advantages of an online reward service are increased choice and ease of ordering, however while only UK companies provide Christmas or end of year rewards, in the US they put a much stronger emphasis on presentation and early recognition. It will be interesting to see how the two industries continue to grow and learn from each other.

In the US market, early recognition and presentation are important. Rewards are generally given after just one year, whereas in the UK 10 years is usually the minimum length of service that is recognised. In the US managers always present the rewards publicly in front of the peer group, very much putting the focus on the recipient. In the UK however, although some gifts are formally presented, many are sent via the post after an email message or letter of congratulations.

Average US companies spend between $12-$15 per year of service for staff rewards whereas in the UK, companies allocate an average of 10-12 ($20-25) per year of service. This makes the UK appear more generous yet US companies reward their staff more frequently.

UK companies are generally much more flexible in the range and extent of gifts offered to their staff. Most staff members request a range of high quality lifestyle gifts, however some have requested more bespoke gifts, for instance a CD rack in the shape of an Eiffel Tower, a day’s training with the London Wasps, and a globe with every FedEx destination on it. In the US, companies offer a wide but specific range of up to 30 gifts as a choice in each financial band.

Similarities between the two countries are fairly widespread. As well as agreeing that online reward and recognition programmes are a clear advantage over conventional brochures and vouchers, both agree that the major growth factor in reward and recognition over the past 5 years has been solely due to the vast increase in choice that is now given to employees and the ability to tailor the programmes to suit regional taste. Both countries also agree that the future of reward and recognition is celebration and consistent rewards, to mark the achievement of employees, and integrating service awards with performance recognition to create total recognition schemes.

I expect UK companies to follow the US in starting to recognise service after 5 years rather than the current 10 years, and to place more emphasis on the public presentation of the rewards - that is an important part of recognition! says Mr Haskell.