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The new research publication, HR.com’s State of Rewards and Recognition 2025 from the HR Research Institute, offers deep insights into the powerful impact — and ongoing challenges — of organizational rewards and recognition (R&R) programs.
The findings highlight that while R&R programs can deliver significant payoffs, organizations must overcome critical hurdles to achieve their goals.
According to the study, the top five benefits of effective R&R programs include:
Helping employees feel valued
Enhancing the overall employee experience
Improving employee attitudes and behaviors
Boosting employee well-being
Increasing individual and organizational performance
Despite these substantial benefits, many organizations struggle to implement successful R&R strategies. The research identifies five major barriers:
Lack of measurable performance goals tied to recognition
Insufficient managerial training on R&R best practices
Inconsistent application of R&R programs across the organization
Lack of transparency in how recognition is implemented
Poor communication and limited visibility of R&R initiatives
The differences between successful R&R programs and less effective efforts reveal that high-performing organizations are significantly more likely to regularly evaluate and enhance their R&R initiatives, with their HR professionals:
13X more likely to say donations to a charity are a popular reward
over 6X more likely to measure the impact of R&R through employee performance metrics
nearly 6X more likely than lagging organizations to review program effectiveness on a
