Adam Williams
With 61% of UK employees admitting that their work wellbeing would improve if they were simply thanked more for their hard work, it’s crucial to ensure that we’re showing gratitude and appreciation to our people for their efforts and achievements. And taking recognition one step further with an employee reward system can be the perfect way to do that. In this article, we’ll explore how these systems work, what exactly makes a successful employee rewards system and how to launch one within your organisation.
What is an employee reward system?
An employee reward system allows both the business and its employees to recognise and reward colleagues and direct reports for their achievements. This could be reaching milestones, successfully delivering a hefty work project or hitting a key target.
It’s a fantastic way of making recognition and reward both tangible and interactive.
What makes a successful staff reward system?
Employee reward programmes will differ depending on the size and type of your organisation, but there are a few elements that you should consider when developing your own.
- Quality rewards. It sounds basic, but it’s important. If people are working hard for their recognition, you need to make sure the rewards they receive are worth the effort! With 75% of global employees admitting they would use any rewards on essentials rather than luxuries, it’s important to speak to your team to find out the type of rewards which will benefit them the most.
- Participation and buy in. You’ll need to be able to show that senior members of your workforce are engaging with the employee reward programme – this will legitimise it in the eyes of the wider staff. Following that it’s important to keep promoting the programme and reminding employees about it, to ensure that as many as possible participate.
- Tailored to your employees. If you’ve got a flexible and dynamic workforce you’ll need a staff reward system to match. A tailored rewards programme can ensure you’re delivering exactly what your team needs and in a format they can easily interact with.
- Measurable goals. If you’re looking to reward a certain employee (or even a department) through your employee reward scheme, but sure to set measurable goals. ‘Increase website visits’ isn’t really a measurable goal to aim for, but ‘boost sales by 10%’ is. By setting measurable goals employees will know exactly what to aim for, making them more likely to work towards it and earn their reward.
- Scalability. Whatever the size of your company, your employee rewards system should be able to grow and develop as the number of employees increases. When you hit a particular number of employees you could even start introducing larger rewards, so that everyone has an enticing shared goal.
What are the benefits of an employee reward system?
Employee reward systems can bring a multitude of benefits to your organisation.
Increased employee morale
It’s not just the rewards that will increase employee morale (although they certainly don’t hurt). Being recognised for your efforts is a huge morale booster, especially if it comes from both your managers and your peers. An employee reward system gives your employees this avenue for personal satisfaction.
Improved employee performance
By setting up a system where employees can directly see how their hard work and positive results lead to rewards, you’re giving them a solid goal to aim for and a very real reward they can expect. This naturally leads to an uptick in employee performance, and one that can continue as long as you keep on improving your staff reward system and offering decent rewards.
Improved employee retention
The culture of hard work, recognition and reward that your employee reward system will create won’t go unnoticed. Employees will be more likely to stay, not just because they could get a reward for hitting a target, but because you’ll foster an environment that makes them feel valued.
If you’re concerned about top-performing staff thinking of looking elsewhere, initiating an employee reward system could be the answer.
Enhanced engagement
One of the key aspects of an employee reward system is your team being able to give and receive real-time recognition for impressive performances. This kind of feedback is invaluable when trying to improve your staff’s engagement with their work. By seeing exactly what kind of work gets recognised and receiving rewards for it, your employees will feel more connected to their profession and your company.
Types of employee reward systems
Monetary rewards
Monetary rewards differ slightly from normal bonuses. Bonuses are usually paid out at a set time during the year, and are often based largely on company or organisational performance.
In the case of monetary rewards, they’ll be paid out if an employee or team hit a certain pre-set target, such as a sales quota. They can also take the form of vouchers to well-known retailers.
They’re a great way of motivating staff and rewarding them with a little extra in their pay packets if they reach a goal.
Experiential rewards
This type of reward offers the employee or team a unique experience, paid for entirely by the company. Perhaps the employee in question will get tickets to a football match? Or a team that hit their target might be treated to a meal at a fancy restaurant? The key thing here is to speak to your employees to find out what experiential rewards that they’ll definitely enjoy.
Personal development rewards
Personal development rewards are fantastic as they demonstrate that your company is not only rewarding an employee for their work, but also helping them develop their career. They can take the form of conference tickets, learning days or even paying for professional qualification courses.
Recognition
It might not seem as attractive as the other rewards, but it’s a mistake to ignore just how powerful recognition can be.
For example, if your employee rewards system has a peer-to-peer recognition function you could send out a notification celebrating the most-recognised employee each month.
This kind of public recognition can do wonders for employee confidence and engagement, and can recognise people whose work is usually behind the scenes and so can sometimes go unnoticed by the wider business.
How to successful introduce an employee reward system at your company
Understand employee preferences and needs
We’ve mentioned it already, but it’s worth repeating. Before launching your employee reward programme you need to have a solid understanding of the needs, tastes and preferences of your staff. If you offer rewards they don’t care about, or structure the system in a way that makes them unlikely to interact with it, your programme could fail.
Consult your employees before the launch and figure out exactly what needs to be included in your programme to make it a success.
Ensure your reward system is easy to use
It’s important to make sure the employees can use your staff reward system quickly and easily. If there’s a complicated interface or a confusing system, they’re likely to lose interest and forget it exists.
Publicise the reward programme
You’ve got your employee reward system set up, so how do you make sure your team makes use of it? Don’t rely on word of mouth – publicise it!
You could organise a launch event where you explain to the entire staff about the new system, how to use it, and how it can benefit them. Be sure to follow this up with further emails so there’s no doubt that everyone in your company is aware of the new system and eager to try it out.
Measure participation and effectiveness
Once things have started moving and employees are aware of the system, but sure to measure how many people are interacting with it and how often. If numbers are lower than expected you might need to improve the rewards or change the interface. This is particularly important in the initial few weeks after the launch, but the work doesn’t stop, as the next point explains.
Continually evaluate and adjust
Your employee reward system should be looked at like any other ongoing tool you use. This means you must always be measuring it, ensuring your employees are still engaging with it and that it’s still delivering value back to them.
Over time the needs and wants of your team will change, so naturally your employee rewards system will have to adjust and keep up.
Start your employee reward journey today by speaking with one of our employee experience experts.
