Employees deserve to receive rewards for their good performance. It’s not just their salaries and benefits that matter to them. They also want to feel as if the hard work they put in for the company is actually being recognized. But, recognizing the efforts of your employees requires more than just a bump in the pay. When you’re generous with your rewards, there’s a higher likelihood of your employees staying happy and content with your organization. 

An employee reward system is only as effective as how it’s made. When your purpose is to possibly increase customer retention, you’ll want to be certain that your employee reward system works. Don’t skimp on this. The better your employee reward system is by using the right tactics and tools, like a reward codes platform, the better the results can be for your business. 

With that said, here’s a six-item checklist you can refer to so you can be certain that what you have is an employee reward system that actually works. 

1. Involve Employees In Your Recognition System 

You have to involve your employees in your recognition system. After all, the rewards are for them, anyway. Hear them out, so you’ll have an idea as to what your employees would actually appreciate to receive as rewards. This first step alone can already boost their morale. It’d make them feel like they’re heard, and that their opinions actually matter. 

You see, rewards motivate employees more than punishments do. If you keep on punishing or controlling employees, chances are they’re going to be unhappy. This can lead to a high employee turnover rate. If you listen to what actually makes your employees happy, you’ll be certain that you’re coming up with employee rewards that work. 

2. Consider Non-Financial Rewards 

Compensation alone isn’t enough to retain skills and talents. After going through the first item above, you may be surprised to find out that many of what your employees like to receive doesn’t always come in cash. In fact, it’s not always big things. 

After listening to what your employees have to say in the first step above, make a list of your own as to the possible non-financial rewards you can give your employees. This allows you to have alternate reward options, so your recognition system can be sustained. 

If you’re not prepared with your options of non-financial rewards, you may run out of ideas. This would make your employee recognition system unsustainable an ineffective in the long run. 

3. Clarify Your Vision 

No employee recognition system can ever be established without first identifying your personal vision for coming up with one. Each company will have its underlying reasons as to why they’ve decided on an employee recognition system in the first place. Be sure to identify what yours is.  

The vision you’ve set for your rewards system is utterly important as it becomes its driving force. For instance, do you want to motivate employees so they can improve their performance?  Give out those incentives which you know can, indeed, motivate them. Do you want to increase sales?  Focus on those rewards that can achieve such goal. 

If you don’t clarify your vision for coming up with those rewards, unfortunately, some employees may see them as self-serving. In effect, those rewards may not work as effectively as they should in achieving your intended results. 

4. Specify Your Rewards Criteria 

It’s also a must to establish a rewards criteria. You have to be as specific as you can get regarding your rewards. Don’t leave any room for doubt or interpretation regarding how your rewards are given. 

That way, employees will never question why certain employees have this and that, and why they don’t. Worse, when rewards are given, matters like favoritism may be brought up, and that’s certainly not the kind of culture you’d like to bring up in your workplace. 

Most importantly, when you’re specific about your criteria, you’re able to genuinely point out what employees need to do and show for them to win. 

5. Be A Good Boss 

Here’s an employee recognition method that doesn’t have to cost any money at all: be a good boss. There’s nothing more rewarding for employees than to have a boss who treats them well. In fact, this is the ultimate reward for them to receive. No matter what other rewards you give, if you’re a grumpy and angry boss, then that negativity is going to stick with your employees. Chances are they won’t be appreciative of the rewards you give. 

There’s an old adage that goes, “Employees don’t leave businesses; they leave bosses.”  When you treat them well, your attitude as a boss, coupled with a good employee recognition program, will have employees staying for long with you. 

6. Reward Everyone Who Meets The Criteria 

One of the biggest mistakes you can commit when giving out employee rewards is not rewarding everyone who meets the criteria. Imagine how disgruntled your employees are going to be when they find out they’ve met all the necessary criteria or requirements to qualify for an incentive, and yet only one will be rewarded at a time. 

Be generous with your incentives. Yes, this will mean an added expense to your business, but that expense will subsequently be worth it when the returns it can bring out are even bigger. Publish each of your employees’ accomplishments, and acknowledge or publicize them in your workplace. Those are going to be happy employees who’ll surely go above and beyond with their efforts for your company. 

Conclusion 

Everyone likes to receive a nice pat in the back from time-to-time. But, this should be accompanied with so much more, such as in the form of rewards. Think of those employees who’ve worked and stuck with your company for many years now, or those who consistently go above and beyond the minimum requirement at work. Don’t these employees deserve to be recognized for their excellent work, too?  If you don’t have one already, then this year, your organization should definitely consider coming up with an employee rewards system. The checklist above should be enough to keep you guided.