How to Reward Your Employees for Extraordinary Work Ethic

We all like to be recognized and appreciated for our efforts in every sphere of life, but especially in our work, we want our achievements to be seen, which is why it has been proven that effective employee recognition and rewards can have a significant impact on employee engagement, which results in higher productivity, improved job performance, and higher company loyalty. It also decreases the amount of employee turnover, as employees will remain loyal to an employer who makes them feel valued and appreciated, not just disposable cogs in the machine. By recognizing and rewarding your employees, you are also empowering them, giving them confidence in their abilities, and increasing their performance. There are tangible and intangible recognition and reward methods that come in all shapes and sizes and today we are going to take a look at some of them, so let’s get right into it. 

Objective

Before you can think about the rewards, you have to consider the objective. This means that you need to determine what you will be rewarding your employees for before you start giving them Turkey Coupons, like recognizing work anniversaries, praising job performance, the quality of their customer service, or loyalty. Once you have settled on an objective, try to make sure that the rewards tie into the company’s overall mission so it feels relevant and cohesive. For instance, public school teachers in the US can be nominated as Teacher of the Year in their school, district, state, or even country. These nominations would require that the teacher have formed strong, deep relationships with their pupils, be engaging, and deliver high-quality, interesting lessons that the students learn from. Just one possible example from many. 

Determine Interest

Before you decide anything, make sure the recognition and rewards are actually what your employees want and are interested in, so maybe survey how they would like to be recognized to ensure their support. People are different after all, and some people may thrive on something like public acknowledgment, while others will cringe and recoil at the mere thought of being recognized in front of their peers and having all the attention be on them. Understanding what your employees want and knowing them is important if you want to reward them properly. Whether they want to be recognized publicly or privately, whether they would prefer intangible or tangible rewards, these are the criteria you should ascertain first when gauging their interests. 

Tangible Rewards

Let’s take a look at some possible tangible rewards, the type of recognition you can see, touch, or hold. For example, benefits and compensations are rewards that provide your employees with financial stability and security, which may increase their job satisfaction and reduce their overall stress levels. Medals, certificates, or plaques are good awards for demonstrating recognition, while other companies like to distribute turkeys around holiday time. For employees who often go the extra mile, a bonus may be appropriate, as it has been shown that salary positively correlates to overall job satisfaction, an outcome that surprised absolutely no one. 

Intangible Rewards

Intangible employee rewards cannot be physically held, and you will find that often recognition does not have to cost even a dime. Some studies have even suggested that nonfinancial approaches may effectively improve profitability, business performance, and employee retention. Rewards like career development, recognition, and work-life balance can positively impact your employees’ sense of value and place within the organization, increasing their motivation and work engagement and ultimately contributing to their job satisfaction. Recognizing your employees shows that you appreciate them and their work, so giving them additional time off or providing them with a special parking spot in the parking lot may be a good idea. Public praise can also be a powerful method of recognition, as supposedly humans look up to their peers to help further develop their self-concept. 

Private Thank You

Perhaps less sought after than public praise, employees, especially more introverted or shy ones, will certainly appreciate a sincere thank you from the leadership, especially if it has a personal touch. A videoconference, a face-to-face meeting, or a phone call will be more effective, and seem more sincere and personal than a text, an email, or something. A genuine thank you that does not seem or sound like it came off the production line can sometimes go a long way in validating and recognizing an employee’s efforts, letting them know that their hard work was seen and valued. 

Consistency

Be consistent in what you choose. This means conducting the program with fidelity, so if an employee expects recognition and has earned it, then they deserve it. You may need to schedule the recognition or appreciation time to make sure you stay consistent, so set a reminder or mark your calendar to solidify it as your priority and sort of hold yourself accountable, or you can charge other employees with this task of recognizing and/or rewarding their peers. The frequency of this should be more than just once a year, and also, this recognition and reward should be somewhat immediate or timely when success occurs, as timeliness makes it more impactful. 

Fairness

Rewards should be fairly distributed, and everyone should have the same opportunity and chance to earn rewards and recognition, so be very cautious about discrimination. Consider employees with special circumstances, like those who may work part-time or may be new to the business, and may be performing to the best of their abilities, but their results probably will not equal those of their seasoned colleagues. This means you should not only see and recognize the results but also the growth and effort it took to accomplish them. A good leader considers individuals and recognizes each employee’s unique weaknesses, strengths, and needs. 

A business should never be cold, distant, and automated to the point of being almost a machine. Try and incorporate a human touch where you can, show appreciation for hard work and work ethic, reward those who go the extra mile, and implement a system that gently pushes those who do not have as much motivation.