Employees always want to feel appreciated and valued. With an array of reward options now available, organisations can look beyond traditional pay rises to consider alternative methods they can use to attract, motivate and retain high-performing employees. This article outlines some of these methods.
It's not always about money...
Rewarding means recognising and appreciating employees, both individually and collectively, for their contributions to an organisation's goals. It is always important to reward employees, but in tough economic times, employers need to find more creative ways of doing so. While remuneration does have a part to play in reward strategies, it is not always the most effective method. Sometimes, a few inexpensive strategies can greatly enhance performance and give lower performing employees something to aspire to. Most individuals are motivated by opportunities to grow and develop, to take on new opportunities and responsibilities.
In line with this, Armstrong and Brown developed the Total Rewards model, which integrates four different aspects of reward:
1. Pay
Methods of payment can reward individuals, teams and organisational performance. Examples include salary increases, bonuses, shares and profit-sharing. Financial rewards such as these can often be bettered by competitors and, on their own, are unlikely to create the desired levels of motivation, commitment and energy. It is therefore important to incorporate the other three aspects of reward detailed below.
2. Benefits
These can include pensions, holidays, perks (such as company cars or childcare vouchers) and non-financial benefits such as flexible working arrangements, varied and interesting workload, or a stimulating and open environment. Interestingly, these have all been cited as highly motivating factors by employees, yet they are often under-used.
While pay and benefits are necessary to attract and retain employees, their value can be enhanced by what Armstrong and Brown refer to as 'relational' or 'intangible' rewards. These include learning and development and the work environment.
3. Learning and development
Investing time and effort into your team's development is an excellent way to keep your team happy, engaged and motivated. It also brings about many other advantages, including:
Business benefits. Applying new skills and knowledge in the workplace should result in more effective processes, added value through technical or subject matter expertise, and an increased talent pool that can be utilised for projects.
Motivation. If your team members feel that you, and the organisation as a whole, are investing time and effort in their development, they are likely to be motivated to perform to the best of their ability. Through this motivation will come a positive working attitude and a willingness to engage with the organisation's aims and objectives.
Staff retention. Similar to the above, investing in an individual's development will make them feel valued. Valued employees are more likely to stay with an organisation.
Confidence and personal satisfaction. Mastering a new skill will doubtless breed confidence. In turn, you will find that this confidence should result in a willingness to take on workplace challenges, offers of support and help to others, and suggestions of improvement ideas. Personal pride and satisfaction in their work will grow from this.
Learning and development rewards are varied, but can include training, e-learning, job-shadowing, coaching, mentoring, blended learning, secondments, succession planning, delegation and giving team members more responsibility etc.
4. Work environment
Rewards relating to the work environment can include provision of, or access to, leisure facilities, access to free tea, coffee and fresh fruit, etc. Offering praise and providing increased opportunities for involvement are also important.
Remember: rewards do not have to be expensive or extravagant. A simple email or note of appreciation, or a verbal compliment in front of colleagues will go a long way to motivating and engaging your team. Here are some more ideas that won't break the bank:
Public recognition is one of the most effective ways of rewarding employees. By praising an individual in front of their peers, you can demonstrate what it is you value as a manager, and give your team member a confidence boost at the same time. It is a great motivator, and often inspires hard workers to work even harder.
Give people extra time off, e.g. if they have been staying late or coming in early to work on a project, send them home early on a Friday. Or reward people with a history of long service by giving them a few days' extra annual leave.
Take your team out to lunch or dinner, or treat them to a fun (not work-related) 'away day'. Remember, though, that not everyone enjoys socialising with their colleagues outside of the workplace, so it may not be suitable for all.
Provide opportunities to develop new skills and progress in their careers by offering to mentor them, or finding them a suitable coach/mentor.
Think about introducing incentives, such as free monthly on-site massages or alternative therapies, or subsidised gym memberships.
Improve your team's work-life balance by introducing flexible working arrangements, such as occasional home-working or flexible working hours (if possible).
Give team members more responsibility by offering them the chance to work on interesting, challenging and complex tasks.
Key Points
It is very important to reward your team, but it is equally important to take the time to find out how they would really like to be recognised, and tailor your rewards accordingly. Sometimes people aren't actively seeking a bonus or pay rise. Instead, what they would really like is a sincere ‘thank you’ or a day off to spend with their family instead. Rewards should be relevant to your team member's achievement, but should also be in line with their own personal interests, tastes and motivating factors.
Celebrate achievements. Give credit to team members where it is due, in front of their peers. Recognising individuals or groups can enhance morale while at the same time highlighting exemplary behaviour.
Ensure you are consistent with your rewards. For example, if you give out a lot of compliments and praise one month, then don't offer any the next month, your team will wonder what is going on. They are much more likely to work harder if they feel that what they are doing is appreciated on a day-to-day basis.
Be specific and sincere when you say thank you. Identify the specific behaviour that you want to express appreciation for: don't just say 'great job' or 'well done', say, for example 'You've delivered the management reports before the deadline for the last three months, which is fantastic'.
All rewards must be fair, and everyone must be treated equally. It is important to ensure that your rewards do not discriminate against particular employees.
Conclusion
While financial rewards and benefits will always motivate your team to some degree, much of an individual's motivation lies in job satisfaction or the intrinsic qualities of the job itself. It is important, therefore, to recognise and appreciate a job well done, in the most appropriate manner, for example through the provision of opportunities for personal growth, responsibility and advancement. The return on appreciation is immense: employees who feel appreciated are likely to have higher levels of motivation and engagement, and are more likely to remain with an organisation than those who don't.
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