Rewards and recognition will always be the result of performance. Performance of an employee or a group of employees can be measured by virtue of measuring their contribution, i.e., Goal versus performance. Goals can be based on contribution to the fiscal growth of the organization. Fiscal growth has to be established first, and from the top, the goals are broken down to the bottom-most employee, depending upon the job role he or she is performing.
I am an HR Consultant with 40 years of industry experience and 12 years of consultancy and training. I conduct online and classroom training on HR and soft skill topics. I have clients in India and the Middle East. If you are interested, I can help your company establish a robust performance management system. Many HR people mistake performance for daily regular attendance, discipline, following rules, etc., which is wrong. Based on performance, rewards can be determined based on the profit of the organization.