Bonuses Reign as Top Employee Reward, CFOs Say

News provided by

Accountemps

Feb 23, 2010, 08:00 ET

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite lean budgets for many businesses today, most financial executives say cash is king in recognizing their teams' hard work. Forty-six percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed for the Accountemps survey cited bonuses as the most effective way to acknowledge a job well done. Time off came in second at 21 percent.

The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from more than 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with more than 20 employees.

CFOs were asked, "Which of the following do you feel is most effective in rewarding your accounting team after major projects?" Their responses: 

    
    
    Bonus......................................... 46%
    Time off...................................... 21%
    Departmental lunch or social gathering.........15%
    Tickets to sporting or entertainment events.... 4%
    Other.......................................... 1%
    Do not reward................................. 12%
    Don't know/no answer........................... 1%
                                                  ---
                                                  100%

"Performance-based bonuses can be a powerful tool for motivating and retaining employees," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "For those employees who have taken on added responsibilities as a result of staff cutbacks, offering some form of cash recognition can go a long way in demonstrating these extra efforts are valued."

Messmer acknowledged that bonuses may not be feasible for some firms. "When resources are limited, budget-friendly ways to reward staff, such as extra time off after a major project ends or a department celebration when meeting an important milestone, can help boost spirits and motivate teams."

About the Survey

The national study was developed by Accountemps, a division of Robert Half International and the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. For the study to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments are represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of the number of employees within each region.

About Accountemps

Accountemps has more than 360 offices worldwide and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com. Follow Accountemps for workplace news at twitter.com/accountemps.

SOURCE Accountemps

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