Just less than half of the employees surveyed state that
their company offers an employee reward program, with the majority 56.4 percent
claiming that their company is one of the 62.9 percent across the region that
offer none of the following incentives: Awards to employees, recognition or
appreciation, employee of the month or year, or peer-to-peer recognition. Only
12.7 percent of professionals said their employers offer all four of these
motivational stimuli.
"The responses we received to our latest online poll
study show that employees in the Middle East are engaged at work, despite the
fact that the majority of companies appear not to offer many of the traditional
incentives that are used elsewhere in the world as motivational tools,"
said Lama Ataya, chief marketing officer at Bayt.com. "At Bayt.com we
strive to provide employers and employees with detailed, relevant information
that reflects issues that are current to them, while offering a comprehensive,
invaluable online resource for all employment needs."
While 62.2 percent of poll respondents say that they do
receive recognition or praise at work, 23.8 percent state that they do not find
it necessary to have someone encourage their development. Of those who do have
their efforts lauded, 44.4 percent receive encouragement from their supervisor
or manager, with colleagues being a boost source for a further 25.5 percent.
Results show that 77 percent of polltakers do feel
engaged at work, with 68.4 percent understanding what is expected of them in
their current role.
Companies that are attempting to boost engagement levels
are doing so by showing more recognition (25.3 percent), giving more rewards
(22.5 percent), encouraging open communication (24.5 percent), increasing
transparency (13.3 percent), and empowering staff (14.5 percent). However, 44.7
percent of employees claim that first and foremost, more opportunities to learn
and grow within the company are needed to make them feel more engaged. A better
salary and benefits package comes in as a distant second with 17.1 percent
placing it as a priority; trailing behind is a clear career path (13.7
percent); a good relationship with colleagues (9.1 percent); and a good
relationship with their manager or supervisor (8.6 percent). Only 6.8 percent
believe that more recognition or appreciation will increase their level of
engagement at work.
"Clearly, beyond getting the compensation equation
right, there are very many variables that influence employee satisfaction and
engagement and Bayt.com's regional HR research has shown time and time again
that opportunities for career development and training are paramount among
these," added Ataya.
Data for the Bayt.com Reward Programs and Employee
Engagement in the Middle East survey was collected online from Sept. 27-Nov.
13, 2011, with 14,063 respondents from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and the UAE.
