The numbers don't lie. While North American companies spend $38 billion annually on incentives for their employees, 70% are not engaged and 60% are actively looking for work citing lack of appreciation as the reason.

If your organization has an employee recognition program, you're in good company - three out of four companies have some kind of recognition program. The problem is that most of these companies are pursuing recognition strategies that don't work.

It's getting to be widely recognized that office productivity is tied to recognition - for instance Bersin & Associates has found a 12-fold gain for companies that do a good job at recognizing the contributions of employees. The dark side of this knowledge is that some managers are starting to use recognition the way an animal trainer doles out dog treats, offering praise indiscriminately in order to get results.

Organizations pay a high price when they involuntarily lose employees. There are the direct expenses, such as recruitment and training; indirect costs, such as decreased morale and the effect on discretionary effort – directly linked to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and to lost revenues; and opportunity costs, such as project delays resulting from the loss of employees and the knowledge they take with them.

The Hunger Games is a young adult novel about teenagers who are pitted against each other by corporate sponsors in a match to the death. The story resonates with young people today who find themselves competing against each other for a limited number of jobs or spots at top colleges and universities. Unfortunately it also describes a toxic form of competition that has invaded too many companies.

It's hard to break loose of the traditional management thinking that productivity depends on carrots and sticks. Reward your top performers and make your underperformers walk the plank...putting a healthy dose of fear into the equation. And there's plenty of discussion over which is more effective, the carrot or the stick.

Productivity is something of a modern concept. It wasn't until the early 20th century that scientists began studying workplace conditions to see how a worker's environment impacted productivity. One set of famous studies took place at the Hawthorne Works, a division of Western Electric. An experimental protocol was set up to study whether workers were more productive in well-lighted conditions or poorly lighted conditions. The base rate of productivity was secretly measured before the tests began and then workers were tested in different lighting conditions.

Zappos is a company that continues to impress me with the way they understand the human equation of doing business. When it comes to employee recognition Zappos understands the power of your peers. The innovative online apparel retailer gives its workforce the power to lift up...and reward...coworkers who go the extra mile.

In my last post I noted that most companies make at least some effort to have an employee recognition program. But it turns out there is a huge difference between simply having a recognition program and having a recognition program that works.

When was the last time you went to the movies and said "Wow! That was some great body rustle in that flick." My guess is never. Body rustle is a sound effect of fabric on skin or the weight of a person's arm resting on a table. It's something that you don’t notice unless it's missing. Watch a vintage movie and you'll notice that they have a hollow feeling because they lack body rustle and other effects that make today's cinema feel natural.