This paper is dedicated to the memory of Linda Anderson, research writer and well of wisdom. Rewards and Retention Introduction Businesses have cut costs, laid off employees, looked for internal efficiencies to build on and have taken a host of other steps to increase their opportunities to prosper in the face of ever-increasing competition. The issue of rewards management for the purposes of retaining high-performing employees is one that has been of continual interest over the past decade and longer. Early Perspectives Years of tradition dictate that the root of employee motivation is money, that employees will work harder and more productively just for the promise of higher pay. Practice and astute observation, however, reveal that the tradition is only a myth, with very little base in fact. Spitzer (1996) goes so far as to say "Sometimes a jelly doughnut or a handshake is as effective, if not more effective, than a monetary bonus" (p. 45), and adds "Despite unprecedented efforts to motivate employees, employee motivation is at an all-time low" (Spitzer, 1996; p. 45). Further, "despite the enormous investment in rewards, recent studies show that the majority of hourly employees and managers in the United States report feeling 'unrewarded'" (Spitzer, 1996; p. 45). Social and business culture do differ between the US and Australia, but in this area it appears that Australian workers hold similar views. Champy (1998) disparages the motivational potential of annual bonuses, saying they "do almost nothing to cement employee loyalty … annual cash bonuses are about as effective as the old Christmas turkey in affecting employee behavior--and a major waste of management time in allocating them" (p. 175). Nearly all corporate workers can be reasonably assured that the needs of first- and second-order in Maslow's hierarchy of needs will continue to be met as long as they are employed, and they hence strive to achieve the third, which is belonging. No cash bonus (or Chr