Hello there,
We hope you’re having a great month so far! Today we’re discussing – Reward & Recognition – do you want to build morale and increase productivity within your staff? You need a R&R program!
One of the most effective strategies to build and sustain employee morale is introducing a reward & recognition program. Recognising achievements of individuals or the whole team shows your employees that their work is valued and appreciated. This helps to build employee satisfaction and increase productivity and teamwork.
Feeling appreciated by an employer is a core need of all employees. A study found that recognition and appreciation are bigger motivators than rewards, so don’t think that it has to be an expensive process. There are many ways to roll out a free or low-cost program.
5 STEPS TO SET UP AN R&R PROGRAM
- The cheapest and easiest option is to recognise when someone does a great job and let them know. This could be acknowledging the individual in team meetings, a private thank you email or setting up an employee of the month/quarter award.
- Decide which behaviours to recognise/reward – will it be for customer service, sales or exceptional achievement? Whatever you choose, make sure it aligns with your strategic goals.
- What is the criteria for the program? How will performance be measured and evaluated? Is it a team or individual goal? If employees don’t understand how to do it, they won’t be motivated to work towards it. Just make sure it is communicated clearly with everyone and is enticing to achieve.
- Make sure that it is all inclusive – everyone should be eligible for the rewards. Excluding specific individuals or teams can negatively impact performance.
- What is your budget? How much do you want to spend and will you be able to roll it out consistently?
9 EASY WAYS TO REWARD YOUR TEAM MEMBERS
- Team lunches/dinners
- Gift certificates/movie vouchers
- Team activities – it could be cocktail making, go-karting, rock climbing
- Celebrating birthdays or anniversaries – give a handwritten card or buy a cake to share
- Have competitions between individuals/teams and give out trophies
- Give away company merchandise
- Give time off – a half day/full day
- Years of service awards – reward/gift should reflect length of service
- Buy coffee or catered lunches for staff
There is HUGE scope for R&R programs which is exciting but sometimes daunting. Just pick one thing and start with that – pick something that fits with your business goals and budget and will resonate with your employees.
At Latitude Recruitment, we do a quarterly lunch when we meet our goals – this is usually at a fine-dining restaurant and is a few hours long on a Friday. It is a great to get to eat beautiful food, as well as catch up and recap over the events of the previous three months. We also do gift certificates when someone has gone above and beyond for the business.
Reward and recognition should not be too complex, expensive or stressful; it just needs to be genuine and consistent.
If you setup your R&R program- let us know how you go!
Cheers,
Team Latitude Recruitment
