Helpful tips for recognising your employees. While all successful companies have had to walk their unique path, most have one thing in common – an active and supportive team.
A great team working for the organisation helps keep operational gears turning and ensures customers are well taken care of. However, creating this type of company culture isn’t always easy, and it requires a strategic approach to leadership.
One way to improve employees’ motivation and engagement is to introduce a reward programme to acknowledge their efforts.
Why rewards can be a great way to show employee appreciation
Reward programmes show employees that an organisation truly values their efforts. One of the primary advantages of this approach is that the rewards themselves can be powerful motivators for employees, often leading to increased productivity and more consistent efforts.
While verbal forms of recognition are always necessary, providing a more tangible expression of thanks can often be even more powerful of a statement. It communicates that company leadership values employees bring to their organisations. These additional rewards outside an employee’s salary help boost office morale.
When is the right time to offer rewards?
Employees can be rewarded at any time throughout the year. However, there are often more impactful moments when employers offer these types of incentives. For example, when employees go above expectations or reach important milestones, offering a tangible reward can be a great gesture of appreciation and respect for an employee’s additional efforts.
Timing is important when acknowledging performance to ensure you’re setting the right precedent. To maximise the impact of a reward, it’s important to highlight various achievements soon after they’re made to help continuously promote those behaviours with other employees.
Effective types of incentives you can give to your employees
There are a variety of different incentive types you can give to your employees to help shape their work ethic and overall contributions to the business. These can include:
Incentive Pay
Providing a monetary reward like a bonus or performance-based pay can effectively encourage a certain level of output from employees. This type of incentive can be offered through various formats, including one-time bonuses or hitting certain performance tiers when helping the business grow.
Paid time off
Not every reward you offer needs to be monetary. Simply offering additional paid time off can be a great way to support an employee’s need to take a break. The great thing is that this type of reward helps to reduce employee stress in the long term and can be a great way to bring more balance to their work and personal lives.
Gift Cards
Offering gift cards is a highly flexible and convenient way to provide different rewards to employees. This type of format allows the employees to choose a reward type that matters to them most and can include anything from eating out at their favourite restaurant to letting them purchase items from their favourite stores.
Providing development opportunities
Businesses can also offer different development opportunities when offering rewards. Online or in-person professional learning courses can be a great way for employees to develop their skills or build new ones that assist them in their current jobs and future career endeavours.
The long-term benefits for rewarding employees
Creating a rewards programme for your business can lead to several positive employee improvements. These can include:
Increased confidence
Providing tangible forms of recognition helps to validate an employee’s efforts and to helps them develop a deeper sense of confidence in their abilities. This often leads to a significant increase in productivity and motivates individuals to feel more willing to take on newer challenges and develop themselves further.
Better teamwork
When you show other employees the importance of recognising each other’s accomplishments, it helps to create more collaboration across all departments. This approach creates a culture of support and appreciation. It also makes the business a much more fulfilling workplace.
Improved customer experiences
Employees who feel like they’re being treated well by their employers are likely to extend their positive attitudes towards the customers they interact with. Showing this type of enthusiasm in the business can be infectious and often results in customers having more engaging experiences with the brand. This leads to more positive reviews and increased loyalty.
Start helping employees feel more valued
Taking the time to incorporate a rewards programme for your business can help ensure that your employees regularly feel valued by the organisation. Investing in a reward programme will far outweigh its costs and help your employees feel more engaged and passionate.
