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Data were collected on successful and unsuccessful reward initiatives. The initiatives included new and modified base pay, short- and long-term incentive, benefits, and perquisite/lifestyle rewards. Initiative success was measured on seven factors, and ten conditions were measured for initiative success. Follow-up telephone calls to most respondents provided more detail for examples. Analysis suggests that a common set of criteria can be used to judge the success of different kinds of programs. Surprisingly, success in plan design was not a significant explanatory variable in reaching success on any criterion of rewards initiative success. (c) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Introduction
Rewards systems have a critical role in determining the organization's ability to attract high potential employees, to retain high performing employees, and to motivate all employees to achieve greater levels of performance (Barber & Bretz, 2000; Coil, 2001; Bartol & Locke, 2000; Thompson, 2001). Organizations are increasingly referring to "total rewards" approaches, and the American Compensation Association recently changed its name to WorldatWork to recognize that rewards encompass a wider range of initiatives than just pay and benefits. Yet, the literature on reward program evaluation tends to focus on individual programs or on a limited number of programs of specific type. For example, almost all research examining the financial impact of pay systems on organizations focuses on base and/or incentive pay while ignoring other important elements of remuneration such as recognition awards, or lifestyle programs. Additionally, almost no studies look at the joint impact of multiple rewards approaches or at the interaction between different elements of the mix of rewards. Finally, almost all research focuses on only one or two possible outcomes of a rewards system (e.g., financial impact, employee attitudes).
The primary goal of this preliminary study was to develop a framework that could be used to evaluate the success of many types of rewards programs on a series of criteria and to link the level of success to a set of determinants of success. A secondary goal was to collect narrative examples of specific initiatives within the framework to enrich the understanding of rewards program success and suggest avenues for further research. Progress toward these two goals should help to enhance understanding of total rewards as they are evaluated by organizations and...