An interesting Tweet by YoxaTweet about research done in The Netherlands by the Hay Group (in Dutch). The outcome of this research is that companies start rewarding their employees according to the Anglo Saxon model. At Hay Group they aren't surprised. According to them it is a logical consequence of:
- the trend of individualisation,
- the fact that the reward system is more and more determined by HQ's in other countries, and
- The Netherlands is turning into a services economy in which the individual makes the difference.
I must say I was surprised by these results. I follow the logic, but I was under the impression that with the financial crisis this whole short term stimulating behavior was not acceptable anymore. I cannot speak for other countries, but I sense that in The Netherlands the public speaks out against (high) individual bonuses and the culture that goes along with it. I also felt that the Anglo Saxon model has received a lot of criticism lately and seen as the root of all evil of the financial crisis. Read this, this, and check out the criticism in the Google search result.
Even greater my surprise when reading an interview with knowledge management expert Mathieu Weggeman yesterday in Management Scope (Dutch only) who states that the new generation of knowledge workers has an attitude that is more congruent with the Rhineland model. He even goes as far as to say that he believes that this new generation will not blossom in organizations with an Anglo Saxon business model.
I find this contradiction between the outcome of the research of the Hay Group and the statements of Mathieu Weggeman very interesting. Intuitively I side with Weggeman and wonder if this whole Anglo Saxon based rewarding model is a question of organizations failing to connect with a new generations of employees. In other words are these organizations not enough "employee led" and implementing a reward system that will not jive with a new generation? It is similar to organizations failing to be customer led. I also wonder what the employer branding strategies of the organizations that participated the Hay Group research are.
Please let me know what you think.
