Management perceptions on effective employee rewards: a case study of Cape Town five- star hotels, South Africa

Abstract

Rewards are effective instruments that management may use to inspire employees. When firms offer rewards, their primary goal is to recruit and keep motivated, effective, and efficient employees. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the perceptions of five-star hotel managers regarding the effectiveness of employee reward systems. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 managers from four hotels in the City of Cape Town CBD. The study made use of the semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data. The data was analysed using Creswell’s six steps. The findings of the study indicate that hotels offered distinct types of rewards to their employees, which include both extrinsic (financial) and intrinsic (non-financial) rewards. The paper further suggests that hotel managers are of the view that extrinsic (financial) rewards are mostly preferred by employees and are the most effective rewards to motivate employees in five-star hotels. The research concludes by recommending strategies to hotel management for enhancing the effectiveness of employee reward systems with positive impacts on employee motivation and identifying implications for future research.