Managing reward strategy to enhance employee performance, retention and productivity in organizations: A general overview

In a globalized economy with millions of businesses vying for talented workforce, an organization must be able to motivate and properly compensate employees or risk their being poached by their competitors. This prompts the need for this study to examine the application of reward strategy in organizations with a view to ascertaining its efficacy on employees‘ performance, retention and productivity. The study is essentially library research. From the study, two types of organizational rewards were identified: financial and non-financial rewards. The paper verified the positive correlation between rewards and employees‘ performance, retention and productivity in the organization. However, the study observed that if organizational rewards plan is perceived to be inequitable and bias, it may de-motivate employees in the organization. Based on this, the study proposes: that rewards system in the organization should be designed with articulated strategies that should be embedded in the organization‘s culture; management should identify employees‘ needs/preferences in developing organizations‘ compensation structure. The application of these notions when matched with a good managerial disposition will enable organizations to formulate effective, sustainable strategies that will address equitable and adequate reward for employees, which in turn will enhance employees‘ performance, retention and productivity in the organization. Keywords: Rewards, Employee, Performance, Retention, Productivity, Organization