In today’s world, more and more companies are putting employees first ahead of everything else. Companies have realised that when employees are taken care of well, they would make achieving goals easy. Employees need to be motivated, so they put in their best effort.
You can start an employee rewards and recognition system in your organisation to motivate employees. Rewarding employees for their work is one of the best ways to motivate them. A transparent and well-defined reward and recognition process can help you get the best out of employees.
Reward and recognition
Reward and recognition are ways of acknowledging the work and contribution of employees to the organisation. Recognition is letting everyone know of the value of an employee. Rewards could be monetary or non-monetary tangible benefits given to employees. By rewarding and recognising the contribution of employees, the organisation motivates them to work better.
Others would also aspire to get similar rewards and recognition. They would then put in more effort to achieve goals. This leads to improved morale and greater productivity and efficiency. A properly designed reward and recognition system can be extremely valuable for organisations. Following are some examples of reward and recognition:
- Praising or appreciating an employee verbally (in public) or through an email/circular.
- Offering an employee of the month or most efficiency employee award to recognise the contribution of hardworking employees.
- Awarding a bonus in terms of cash for achieving goals.
- A variable pay system where employees get additional income depending on the results they achieve.
- Offering stock options to best performing employees. This makes them feel more engaged with the organisation.
- Distributing awards and trophies to employees during annual programs.
- Non-monetary incentives like paid holidays, a fully paid vacation, tickets for shows, team dinners, gift vouchers, etc.
- Some companies offer reward points for employees based on the work achieved. At the end of the year (or a specified period), they can redeem the points for the reward of their choice.
Effective implementation of reward and recognition
There is no doubt that reward and recognition helps organisations to improve employee morale and motivate staff to be more productive. But it needs to be done in a proper way. When not executed properly, it can have the reverse effect. Here are some tips to implement an effective reward recognition system:
- A clear policy must be made that outlines every detail of the reward and recognition system. The policy must be simple and clear. Every employee must be made aware of this policy.
- The implementation of this policy must be fair. Everyone should get a chance to be rewarded and recognised. Favouritism or biased implementation can lead to negative consequences. The management must take extra care to ensure the policy is transparent, and the implementation is fair.
- Ideally, a committee or group must implement this system. Employees should also be involved in the implementation.
- Transparency is needed in letting everyone know who has achieved how much and what reward they would get.
- The criteria for rewards must be clear. Once defined, rewards must be given on time.