??Reward those whom you treasure??

Are you doing enough to appreciate and incentivise your employees?

Did you know that there is a difference between appreciation and incentivising?

Think about it for a moment….

Before thinking of starting an incentive and appreciation program, keep the following in mind.

Appreciate employees and incentivise the right behaviour and goals achieved

Make sure your program is directly linked to your company values and goals.

The purpose of any appreciation and incentive program is to enforce the behaviour that leads to goal achievement, create a positive, and high performing culture.

In this way, you will keep your employees engaged, make them feel valued while achieving company goals.

So make sure that you have a mix of appreciation programs and a proper incentive program.

• Employee appreciation programs

These programs are designed to help employees feel good.

They tend to mark milestones and celebrate certain days, such as:

?? Employment anniversaries

?? Birthdays

? Public Holidays

An appreciation program improves employee morale and it is very simple.

Examples will be to bring in baked goods monthly for birthdays or presenting a card signed by top management and colleagues.

In smaller workplace environments, appreciation can be more personalised, like having an office lunch on someone’s birthday.

Employment anniversary milestones are a wonderful way to connect the dots between employee dedication, service, and the company’s mission. They’re typically given at one-year, five-year and 10-year marks. More established companies may celebrate even longer tenures.

If yours is a newer company, or if you’ve been having trouble with staff retention, you could implement more frequent appreciation programs to build enthusiasm.             

A thoughtful thank you note acknowledging months or years of service is almost always welcome.

No matter what you choose to implement, support for the program should start at the top. Employee appreciation efforts are most successful when senior management and leadership are actively involved.

Employee incentive programs

While appreciation programs are designed typically to make employees feel good and to improve morale, an employee incentive program is designed to reward employee performance and behaviour that positively impacts the company.

• For this reason, they should be aligned with your company goals and values.
• An incentive program should highlight your top performers, rewarding them openly while also encouraging others.
• A successful incentive program helps all employees to understand what is important to the company and how you as an employee can contribute and add value.
• Each level of the company needs to be on board with the program to ensure its credibility and respectability within your workplace culture.
• Your company’s employee incentive program also needs to be simple enough to implement, maintain and repeat.

Once you define the behaviours that you value, you can then address the appropriate rewards.

Even if you’re clear on the “why” of incentives, determining what precisely to give a highly regarded, hardworking employee still can be difficult.

There may not be a one-size-fits-all reward that is of value to all employees.

Some people are motivated by getting more time off while others are motivated by cash or gift cards. Still, others enjoy formal presentations of recognition at an annual company dinner.

These incentives can be divided into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic.

1. Intrinsic rewards include feedback and acknowledgment.
2. Extrinsic rewards include raises, bonuses, gifts, and promotions.

For your incentive program to have the desired positive impact on new employee attitudes and performance and on your business it must:

• Match staff motives.
• Help employees grasp which behaviours, levels of performance and attitudes are of greatest value to the company.

No matter what your incentives include, you must set clear parameters for your program and have various options available.

The program must also be measurable so employees can recognise why the recipient was selected. The perception that someone is randomly selected or a choice is made based on favouritism can kill morale.

Summing it all up

A robust strategy will incorporate employee appreciation and incentives.

Senior leadership should embrace and embody this program, and it should support the company’s values and goals.

Whatever strategies you opt to fold into your company, employee appreciation and incentive efforts can positively impact your workplace.

Chow for now!

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