With versatile job opportunities and changing economic outlook, employees obviously expect more from their employers and mentors. Employees need to be happy working for a company to retain the enthusiasm and motivation for delivering their optimum. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) points out that about 31% of employees are satisfied with the recognition received for doing a good job.



Monitoring, reviewing and assessing play crucially in checking the health of a company and can be quite interactive with the employees. The zest to perform works like the ball bearings of a machine. The more you lose, the lesser is the efficiency (of work). If they are not collected and refurbished timely, they can easily get lost forever. Here are the ten best ways to reward your employees.

Read on THE WORLD HIGHEST PAID CEOS

1) Personal touch

A personalized letter or note of thanks to employees for their great job can boost their confidence and show your caring attitude. You may want to indulge in group rewards (particularly when you have a large organization) but the individual initiative is way above other things. When wanting a compensation plan, try to keep the program simple.

2) Leisure and fun

Monotony is inevitable to lifestyle, which can undermine performance. Much of it can be accounted to the nature of the job your employees accomplish. Make your employees feel relaxed and comfortable at the workplace. While work should not be compromised with, a little fun and recreation can drive them to perform better. This also makes you stand apart from the type of stressed out worker.

3) Being part of the celebration

Everybody loves to magnify celebrations, be it the birthday or the arrival of a new one at home. Celebrating birthdays holds particular significance in an individual’s life and is not a restricted affair. A paid day off on a birthday, a nominal gift or a birthday cake or card can work as worthy rewards for giving that special feel to your employees. Additionally, you can create a coffee culture in your office to promote a healthy environment of working.

4) Flexible schedule

High performers may want a flexible schedule to deliver optimally. Employees can align their work schedule to their personal life and reduce stress to perform efficiently. Flexibility at work is indicative of your concern to balance work and life. This can potentially minimize the wastage of resources and enable employees to deliver with concerted effort.

Employees can be happy to know that you respect their lives outside of work. An employee living across town and struggling traffic around the morning and afternoon rush hours may be relaxed when provided with a flexible schedule. Off-site employment, achievable through telecommuting arrangements, also encourages remote workers to deliver promptly. Besides saving on the cumbersome commuting time and parking, there is reduced stress and more energy to perform.

5) Gold Stars and awards

Material rewards like awards can be tempting forms of recognition. For a well-accomplished job, like a successful project or after a period of consistent high-quality work, facilitate awards and recognition. You may deliver little trophies and certificates to worthy employees.

Recognition can also come as a choice for parking or any other utility program.

6) Say ‘thank you’

A ‘thank you’ can work wonders even in ordinary circumstances. A ‘thank you’ can be for anything – staying late to finish a task, locating an error before delivering a project to the client or being on time despite the adverse weather. The impact created by simple appreciation and small gestures can be long-lasting and more powerful than any material reward you can think of.

The feel of appreciation and worthiness can make employees more positive, more productive and more loyal in the future. Make your Thanksgiving simple but special. This can be an apt human connection to give credibility to employees.

7) Indulge in partying

Food can be an attraction on almost all occasions. Companies can provide lunch to employees on a regular basis. Regular treats also serve the purpose at the end of a crucial assignment. Leisurely lunches can be the best lunches and give your employees sufficient time to relax and enjoy themselves. It is important to enabling the feel of credibility regularly even for trivial things.

8) Career incentives

Aspiring and promising employees have a special appeal in programs which boost their careers and promote development.

Monotony can inhibit the dynamism of worthy employees. Provide them opportunities to enhance their careers. Seminars, training programs, assigning bigger projects, etc. are signals that you have raised their bars to perform and score better.

9) Annual appreciation program

Annual events, like appreciation programs, can be organized to reward employees of their sustained efforts and contribution in making their organization a better place. Annual events may include family members of employees to enhance the effect of appreciation and worthiness. Being a part of the extended family can make employees (and their family members) proud of associating with the organization.

10) Acknowledge the hard work

While it is good to reward success, it is equally (and sometimes more) important to reward hard work and consistent effort. Effort truly counts and goes a long way in producing favorable results.

A thought before implementing your strategy

The idea that you are rewarding employees should not be overwhelmed by the amount of money (resources) you are spending. It is not solely money which binds employees to your organization; relationship scores over material possessions.

Rewards can be accomplished in vivid forms. You may express gratitude for your employee’s late-night stays. You can complement recognition and appreciation in the form of a public statement of thanks. Compensation also comes as an apt form of reward. Better still, an incentive compensation plan can provide superior outcomes when you consider the employees and the organization as a unit. Equity ownership can serve as a long-term reward for individuals. It can provide both recognition and incentive to your employees, boosting confidence to an entirely new level. Aim at building a strong employer-employee relationship which can be everlasting.

1.   Be honest with your employees

There are trade secrets and confidentiality agreements, and then there is withholding information on purpose. Knowing the difference is important so you can create an honest and productive environment in the company. Your employees should know what are the company’s goals and directions it’s heading.
Even if the news is not good, you should share them with your employees and reassure them that together you will overcome the problems. This way, you will include them in creating a business and make them a part of your company, instead of pushing them away.

2.   Include incentives

Incentives are a great way to motivate your employees to be more productive. Instead of focusing on only monetary rewards, use other means as well. This way they will know that their efforts are valued since they have something substantial that proves it.
And you can use anything as an incentive really, from paid travel arrangements to simple gifts like new mobile phone or free days. That way your employees will strive to be as best as they can and give their maximum in order to be rewarded. Therefore, in the end, it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

3.   Organize team building activities

Team building is very important and something that you have to invest in order to create positive relationships in the company. It gives your employees an opportunity to meet each other in the more relaxed setting, as well as to get to know the managers and you. Depending on your budget, you can choose various options, from going to single-day picnics to traveling to exotic destinations.
Also, you can tie the team building organization to the revenue of the company, so your employees could see it as direct fruit of their labor. That way, the more effort they invest, the better team building location will be, which is practical and financially logical after all.

4.   Create a comfortable work environment

Take into consideration that your employees spend a lot of time at work. Some even call it a second home since the time spent there can take more than 40 hours per week. So it’s fitting that you create a comfortable work environment and tend to their basic needs and more, if possible.
Start from decorations, like wall paint, plants and furniture which should have a soothing and calming effect. Create a kitchen area that will have the basic ingredients like coffee, tea and beverages your employees can have at all times. The recreational area is very common today and can range from really luxurious ones to those which allow some peace and quiet during breaks.

5.   Resolve conflicts in a dignified manner

Conflicts at the workplace are not unusual and they tend to happen for any number of reasons, being professional or personal. However, leaving it to your employees to resolve the issues between themselves can be damaging to the company since usually, they can’t see eye to eye. Instead, offer workplace mediation services which will offer them agreeable solutions and resolve the conflicts in a dignified manner.

6.   Hold regular meetings

Meetings are great occasions to go over the previous week, plan for the upcoming one, rehash the plans and give credit to the employees’ dedication to the company. Once a week meetings are actually very effective for communication and creating strategies, as well as allocating tasks.
If you have branches in other cities, use technology to include them in your meetings as well. Of course, not everyone should attend the meeting. If you want to address every employee, you can organize a big meeting at the end of the month where you will talk about the achievements and goals ahead.
Also, encourage your teams to have brainstorm sessions and hold regular meetings of their own. Communication over the emails and project platforms is fine, but meeting in person and discussion has a much better influence on the productivity.

Conclusion

For a business to be successful and earn the profit, you have to be a responsible employer and create a positive company culture. It’s not something that will be hard and will do good to the whole collective, even you and other managers. Positive efforts create a constructive and productive environment that will help your company grow and establish itself on the market.