5 Effective Ways to Reward Your Employees

EMPLOYEE REWARDS THAT WORK

Building your company is the easy part. Implementing sustainable practices that will keep it in good health is when the real work begins. One of the most important issues is keeping your employees content and focused on your goals. It is increasingly rare to hear about companies with an average employee tenure of more than a few years. Low turnover often means that employees are happy and happy employees are productive employees. The hard part is to find a balance between effective employee rewards and the cost of these rewards to the company. This is where your innovative and creative ideas can help you tailor this system to your business. Identify important behaviors that help your company grow, show commitment, prove productivity, and achieve goals. Here are a few different types of employee reward systems:

PROVEN EMPLOYEE REWARDS IDEAS

Compensation

The most obvious and most effective way to reward employees is monetary compensation. Your employees are mostly driven by financial benefits that enable them to fulfill a certain lifestyle. Depending on the maturity of your company, your ability to give bonuses varies. When you do give bonuses, make sure you differentiate these rewards from regular pay. Do not pay a yearly bonus unless it is deserved. Tie monetary incentives to goals and milestones to promote productivity.

Benefits

Your reward strategy should be multi-channeled. Benefits are some of the most common types of reward systems for employees and can help to attract and retain talented employees. They may include a good healthcare plan, daycare, shuttle transportation, and assigned parking spots. Making your employees commute easier is a great way to compliment them on their work. Aiding them in aspects of their lives outside of work goes a long way and improves commitment.

Recognition

It is good to compliment the tangible aspects of your reward ecosystem with written and verbal recognition of achievements. They can take the form of company memos, mentions in speeches in front of managers, and employees, as well as private, one-on-one talks. Utilizing different forms of recognition will ensure your top achievers that their work is appreciated and will motivate others to strive for recognition.

Appreciation

Appreciation completes the ecosystem of reward and can come in many forms. It can include instituting casual Fridays, catering in food once a month from a favorite restaurant, weekend getaways, company lunch outings, and fresh snacks on Monday morning. You can tailor your appreciation approach to your budget and business model, effectively incorporating it into your company culture.

Consistency

Once you have crafted every aspect of your reward system put it to paper and execute it consistently. Be honest and thorough with your reward practices and your employees will follow you. Once you incept a reward tradition see that it is executed in the most consistent way possible. Consistency is the most important aspect of all types of reward systems for employees.

Reward ideas:

CEO for a day
Let your high achievers get a taste of running the company on the macro level to entice them to strive for growth.

Lunch with the boss
Invite high-performing employees from any department or level for lunch and take in their thoughts and suggestion.

Casual Friday
Let your employees get a taste of the weekend on their last day of the work week.

Impromptu time off
Do something spontaneous for someone who deserves a reward.

Taco day
Bring in a taco truck or other food truck to the office for a street food experience.

Park meeting
Take a meeting outside and let everyone escape the office for a while.

Educational investment
Invest in your top employees’ future to increase retention rates.