Endless attention. Cucumber water. Need we say more? Show appreciation to your winner with some dedicated 'me time' by giving them a spa day or other special treatment. Not all of your rewards have to be based on items or experiences. And in fact, it's sometimes easier to single out and recognize an employee than you think.
Even without spending a dime. While special treatment in the workplace can go wrong if it shows favoritism, using it as a reward shows that it's clearly merit based and can be inspiring for everyone.
Why it works so well: More than just a bit of down-time while the rest of the world is working, giving your winner a Friday afternoon off can let them get a jump start on the weekend or plan a trip out of town with friends. Sure, the rest of the team will be jealous when they start packing up at noon, but that's the point. They earned it. Why it works so well: As we pointed out before, millennial workers are desperate for a leg-up in the workplace.
And giving them access to the smartest people in their career path is a great way to give them that. Find conferences in your city or state that line up with what your team is interested in and what you want them to learn and pay for the winner to go. Even better, buy two tickets and let them bring a co-worker of their choice.
Why it works so well: Your commute is a way to mentally prepare for your day at work. Yet, for most workers their bus ride or drive in is far from inspiring.
In fact, a study by psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economist Alan Krueger revealed that, even among our least favorite activities like household chores, commuting ranked dead last. Try giving your winner a break from their commute and a chance to work from home. Why it works so well: If you want your winner to feel recognized and you have a workplace dress code in effect, what better way than to let them come to work in whatever they want?
Not only will this make them more comfortable at work, but it's a day-long reminder of their achievement and a way for them to stand out from the rest of the team. Why it works so well: Just like leaving late on a Friday, giving your winner a late start at the beginning of the week lets them make more plans for the weekend.
It also recognizes them for their achievement when they come into work, and can even make them happier all day long if it means an easier commute in not during rush hour. When it comes to gifts, they say it's better to give than to receive. But when it comes to a merit-based reward, the social stigmas go away and we're free to enjoy our gift guilt-free. So whether it's a luxury item or something simple, swag of all sorts is a great way to reward your winner for their hard work. Why it works so well: Just like the laptop or iPad, tech accessories are one of the hottest gift items out there and can instil some serious competitive rivalry in your team.
Pick something current and that can be used daily as a reminder to your winner that you recognize the hard work they put in. Why it works so well: If you live in a city with ride-sharing, your employees most likely use it. They might even use it to get into work on a daily basis. Give them a credit with the service they use the most that will cover a month of trips. More than just a reward for your sole winner, offering a special event for the entire team creates a stronger culture and makes your winner feel like a champion of the people.
However, make sure that each of these rewards has a focus on the winner so they still feel recognized and empowered in how the activity takes place. Why it works so well: When we experience an emotion as a group, like laughter during a comedy or fear during a thriller, we create a strong psychological bond. What better way to create a stronger team than to take a slow afternoon off to watch a movie in the office? As an added bonus, let your winner pick the film.
Why it works so well: Getting everyone out of the office for some activities and games is another great way to build a strong culture and get your team to know each other better. Pick activities that are accessible to your entire team and get your winner to act as a 'team leader' to make them feel empowered. Not all rewards need to carry a monetary value, and sometimes it's the intangible rewards that carry a weight and value that inspires your workers.
Think about small gestures you can do that will give your winner a sense of pride and let them know that they are respected by the entire team. Why it works so well: It might seem like a cop out or a throwaway reward, but a well-designed and thoughtful thank you note can motivate and propel workers to keep putting in their all.
The key here is to put in the effort to show how much you appreciate the worker. As Margaret Shepherd explains in The Art of the Handwritten Note, a proper thank you note has 5 characteristics: It's generous, specific, prompt, succinct and personal. Why it works so well: Is there anything as great as a good ol' high five? Only when it comes from someone unexpected. Take the basketball team the Washington Wizards, for example, who had star player John Wall come down and give their sales rep a high-five during a sales meeting as a reward.
It cost them nothing, but was an unforgettable experience for their winner and their entire team. It's hard to beat a couple hundred bucks as a reward for a job well done. We all could use more money in our lives and while there are certainly more imaginative options out there, if you're stuck for ideas this is an easy fallback. Creating a rewards system for your team is an incredibly easy way to keep them engaged, happy, loyal, and motivated.
And as we've seen, you don't need to go all out on one big effort. Make rewards and competitions part of your culture and you'll be building an educated and emotionally invested workforce that'll stick with you for the long run. Top Stories. Top Videos. Lunch with the boss Take your employees out to lunch and let them choose the location. Team shopping spree If you hit a number-based milestone, such as a sales goal, take that number and use it as the basis for a celebration.
Acts-of-service auction At an employee appreciation dinner or company party, give everyone play money to use at an auction. Themed team lunch Host a company lunch break, possibly themed, held outdoors cookout or picnic or formalized with nice linen on the tables. Gala guests If your group has a relationship with a particular charity , buy a couple of tickets to their next lunch or dinner event and allow your employees to attend.
Team service project Organize a community volunteer activity. Certificate of achievement Present a certificate in honor of a specific achievement. Jeans day Give out coupons that allow employees to wear jeans on a day of their choosing, or designate an all-employee jeans day.
VIP parking spot Give an exemplary employee a dedicated parking space for a week or month. Spot awards When you see employees do something right, give them a small dollar amount gift card on the spot.
Hand-written note A personal note written with sincerity and specifics can sometimes mean the most to an employee. Impromptu time off Spontaneous late arrival or early departure days are always a motivator. Time off coupons Give out coupons for 15 minutes of time off as a spot award.
Indoor food truck On a hot day, have the leadership team go around the office with a cart handing out ice cream e. Peer-to-peer recognition Develop a peer recognition program that lets employees give each other on-the-spot accolades on a community bulletin board or internal website. Team birthdays and work anniversaries Make employees feel special on their big day.
Points reward system Develop a points system for a reward program. Jeff Miller, Director of Learning and Performance Employee competitions Incorporate some fun, healthy competition into the workplace — such as college football team brackets — and award the winner.
Bring-your-dog day Allow employees to bring their dog to work occasionally. Special projects Give your employees an opportunity to work on special projects beyond their regular responsibilities. Cover a major expense When an employee goes above and beyond in a truly significant fashion, you could pay for a major payment or purchase for that individual. Charitable donation Find out what their favorite charity is and donate to it in their honor. Traveling trophy Create a traveling trophy e.
Department recognition bulletin board Recognize departments on a rotating basis. Different dress code Designate a day to change-up the dress code , e. Post team achievements in break rooms Post team results in common areas being sure to include the names of each member. Pay it forward Develop a unique award that employees pass among each other as an expression of recognition.
T-Shirt design contest Hold a contest to design a t-shirt that includes the company logo. Health fair Sponsor a wellness fair to coincide with annual benefits enrollment. Pleasant break room Redecorate break rooms and continue to ensure they are clean and maintained regularly.
Ambassador assignment Invite employees to represent their department at a meeting they typically would not attend. Praise from a customer Ask customers or vendors to recognize employees who have contributed to their positive experience with the company by providing them with a card or unique item to present to the employee of their choice. How to develop a top-notch workforce that will accelerate your business.
Leave a comment 7 Comments. Join in the conversation. This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience.
By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our privacy policy to learn more. For example, if you have an initiative you would like your company to focus on, you can set up a rewards program based on how well employees and teams are focusing on that initiative.
You can set up a rewards program for your customer service team, incentivizing them to reach out to their customers for quotes. Reward outstanding performers by taking them to lunch or giving them exclusive company swag.
You can reward and recognize employees based on performance data. Performance data empowers employees and managers to have consistent, open discussions about performance and progress against professional and organizational objectives. Many companies leverage digital HR tools to provide managers and employees access to dashboards with real-time performance metrics.
This ensures rewards are given meritoriously, based on objective data. Doing so will provide all parties with a better understanding of the correlation between productivity and incentive. Offering a variety of unique and valuable rewards can incentivize employees to work harder and smarter. Do they want scheduling freedom?
Maybe they place a greater value on social events or a nice catered lunch. Additionally, savvy leaders should magnify the lifecycle of the rewards process by publicly naming recipients. This not only enhances the value via peer recognition for recipients but also inspires other employees to perform at a higher level.
Too often, companies obsess over major accomplishments. Of course, celebrating big wins is important, but tunnel vision on major accomplishments may detract from recognizing all the work that went into the smaller milestones along the way — milestones that were essential to making your big win happen. Your rewards program should be tiered, offering up praise, perks, and recognition throughout the lifecycle of a project, not just at the finish line.
In this way, your employees will feel supported and motivated every step of the way, leading to a productivity boost. Plus, strengthening relationships within and between departments improves collaboration, innovation, and communication throughout your company.
A great rewards program should focus on engaging and rewarding team efforts. Your team-based rewards should be more substantial than individual rewards. For example, if you assign a project to an engineering time and they tackle it in record time, consider rewarding them with a team outing to a location of their choice.
Effective team-based rewards encourage and increase cooperation, engagement and employee productivity. A little friendly competition between peers is healthy in the workplace. However, it should be in moderation, especially considering the benefits of teamwork as touched on above. An overly competitive environment can lead to unhappiness and employee burnout, which is the antithesis of a desirable rewards and recognition initiative. An effective rewards strategy will ideally include rewards earned through competition e.
That way, your company offers a diverse array of rewards and employees feel a healthy amount of pressure from peers and managers to achieve at work. While you can get away with gamifying rewards in moderation, do not gamify your recognition program. Gamifying recognition removes the impact of genuine recognition and can encourage employees to manipulate the system.
0コメント