Among companies that have an employee recognition program, 64 percent of companies say their employees are rewarded based on job performance, as opposed to 36 percent of companies that do not have a recognition program, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

These are just two of the noteworthy statistics from Employee Recognition Survey by Globoforce, a provider of employee recognition solutions, and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Employee engagement remains the top priority among survey respondents, and the study also finds that there is a correlation between recognition programs and engagement and retention levels, which are considered crucial elements in this job market.