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5. Recognise and reward work

Key ideas

Successful managers recognise and reward team members appropriately and fairly.
The ideal state is where employees can say 'I feel I am working at a level suited to my capability and I am fairly rewarded for that work. I feel I am contributing to the success of the organisation and I can see a clear link between my performance and my remuneration'.

Overview

As managers are accountable to assign tasks and to ensure each team member is capable of delivering the required outputs, it is a natural step for managers to be accountable to gather appropriate data on their team member's personal effectiveness and make judgments on reward and recognition related to the work assigned.

Recognising and rewarding performance effectiveness is part of the performance management sequence of work. Each part of this sequence has a different emphasis with the same goal of having roles filled with people who can do the work of the role effectively. When done well, it allows team members to be effective and be satisfied with their work. It helps build strong manager-employee working relationships.

Recognising and rewarding work is also part of a manager's VAR³I authorities. These authorities, like all others, must be exercised within the boundaries of the organisation's policies, procedures and values.

Note that pay structures are part of the organisation's systems of work that create the culture within which all employees, including managers, work. This system of work is beyond the control of most managers as the organisation's market rate of pay and internal pay structures are the accountability of the CEO and the Board. Pay structures are discussed in Leading the organisation - 5. Build workforce capability.