Are your bonuses hiding your biggest engagement problems?

You've just given your teams bonuses and raises. Morale is up. Naturally, you schedule your employee engagement survey to capture this positive moment. It seems like perfect timing to get a great score.

But what if that "perfect timing" is the most dangerous mistake your organisation can make?

Many leaders believe that introducing an employee engagement survey immediately after rewards provides an honest measure of a healthy company. Our report reveals the truth: this common practice often creates a temporary "sugar rush" that fundamentally distorts your data.

It’s the difference between temporary satisfaction and true, long-term engagement. When these two are confused, the consequences are severe:

• A False Sense of Security: Your high scores lead leadership to believe everything is fine, masking real, festering issues beneath the surface.
• Wasted Investment: You halt efforts to fix critical problems with workload, leadership or culture, only to face a major crisis and high turnover months later.

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You need data that reflects the sustainable, day-to-day reality of your organisation and not a short-term reaction to a payday. If you're relying on post-bonus data, you're operating with a delusion that could be driving key talent away. Don't let your rewards budget accidentally blind you to your biggest retention risks. Learn how to strategically time your surveys to capture authentic sentiment and drive real, lasting change.