Rewarding your team is an important part of maintaining an engaged and motivated workplace.
While money is a motivator, it’s short-term and less meaningful than thoughtful benefits, perks and rewards. An effective employee reward system can improve morale and keep your team focused on achieving goals for your business.
Here are seven ways to reward your team in 2018.
Responsibility
To some employees, responsibility might seem like extra work, but if you’re careful in who you choose, responsibility can be an effective reward.
By giving employees more responsibility, or the ability to make big decisions on their own, you are showing them that you have confidence in their ability and judgment. With more responsibility, employees often experience increased engagement and productivity. Responsibility given to the right employees will show them that you care about their goals and believe they play an important role at the company.
Promote professional development
Those serious about their professional development will jump at any opportunity to learn more or improve their skills to further their career. Offering professional development opportunities as an incentive can lead to a more engaged team.
Helping your team improve and develop will not only help motivate them, but it will also improve the bottom line of your business. There are several ways you can promote professional development, including taking team members to industry events, inviting speakers to come and talk, or offering relevant online courses that your team can take.
Let your team know quality is rewarded and thank them for their great work
Verbal feedback and acknowledgment
Sometimes, the best rewards are the simplest. One of the easiest ways to reward your team’s hard work is to give them a clear, open line of communication. Immediate feedback is highly valued, especially by young adults.
Verbal acknowledgment is free, easy and promotes motivation to continue producing results. Let your team know quality is rewarded and thank them for their great work. Conversely, when they’re not performing as well as they should be, let them know how they can improve through quick, verbal communication.
Boost productivity with relaxation
Humans aren’t machines who can continuously expend energy; rather, we vary between using and restoring it. Therefore, it makes sense that giving your employees time throughout the day to relax will boost productivity.
More and more companies are coming to this realisation, offering things like massages at the office or even allocated time for a power nap. Half an hour in the afternoon for employees to do nothing but relax will be highly valued, and your team will come back with increased productivity.
Small events
While many bosses would love to throw extravagant dinners for the entire team at the end of every month, for most this simply isn’t possible. The good news is that your events and celebrations don’t need to be huge parties to be an effective reward.
Events can be used as a reward in very simple ways. It can be as easy as having an end-of-month breakroom party where you take a longer lunch break and celebrate any birthdays or milestones people in your team have reached. Make sure you show your gratitude and let employees know that the event is for them.
Flexibility
Flexibility, or the ability to take some time off when it’s needed, is highly appreciated by almost all employees. Work-life balance is becoming increasingly important to employees, so if you can develop a way to allow the ideal balance, your team is much more likely to feel valued.
Give them extra holiday time, or have a more relaxed scheduling system, where if an employee stays back late, or is extra productive, they get some bonus time off to rejuvenate and spend time with loved ones.
Share the profits
Not every company may be able to do this, but sharing the profits around the company can be greatly rewarding. If you feel your team has helped the company grow by a significant amount or reached new goals, it can be a great idea to split a percentage of your profits and share it between each employee.
Not only does this reward your team, but it helps keep them focused and working towards the common goal of your business.
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