Select rewards for workers can be a big morale booster

In his 27 years as a nurse at Truman Medical Center, Ed Dullenty had never experienced a "worker bee" recognition like it.

Seventy nurses, chosen because of peer recognition or tenure, met at the hospital one day in June for breakfast, then were whisked to the airport, where they were flown to Minneapolis for a day-long outing.

On the agenda: a continuing education seminar and shopping spree before flying back to Kansas City that night.

"It was definitely a morale booster," Dullenty said. "Bedside nurses don't go to a lot of meetings, don't get to connect with each other in a fun way very often. This was nice."

Truman Chief Executive Officer John Bluford said cost of the motivational and thank-you outing was money well-spent.

It costs, on average, $40,000 to recruit and replace a nurse, including the cost of overtime for other nurses to fill the vacancy until a new hire is on board.

The cost of the trip was less than that, Bluford said, thanks to contributions or discounts

Rank-and-file recognition gestures like that are hard to come by in budget-pinched and cost-cutting organizations. But among executives who choose to host thank-you events, the attitude is more along the lines of "we can't afford not to."

In industries in which jobs are hard to fill or competitors are eager to snap up the best workers, employers know that staff rewards and recognitions are important.

Across the workplace landscape, workers increasingly want competitive pay — a reflection of the current economy and worries about job stability. But whatever the economy, workers want to know that their contributions are recognized.

I've sometimes heard employers say they shy away from rewards that acknowledge only a few. They are afraid that the ones not chosen will end up with even worse morale and be less likely to stay on the job.

Bluford said that is a risk that may need to be taken.

Even if it's not perfect, even if everyone eligible or worthy doesn't benefit, perhaps there's a trickle-down indication that the organization values its worker bees. And maybe that makes the hive buzz better.