Recognizing outstanding employee performance is not just a nice thing to do for your team members; it can be a communication tool that reinforces and rewards staff behavior to ensure you retain top talent. When you recognize your staff effectively, you create a system where employees continually strive to do their best and feel good about their work. A successful Rewards and Recognition program is simple, immediate and a perfect way to motivate your employees.
When you are starting from scratch, designing a program can be challenging and if done incorrectly, can unintentionally de-motivate your employees. Making the task even tougher is keeping the complexity of human behavior and feelings in mind to create a program that broadly works across your organization.
Firstly, you need to establish a standard for what you consider rewardable behaviour. Often, this is when an employee goes above and beyond what is outlined in their mandate, are consistently top performers or generally always willing to lend a hand. Secondly, your program should be easy to follow and understand from the perspective of managers and team members. Your Rewards and Recognition program should provide a connection between your company’s overall goals and strategies to your employees’ day-to-day reality.
Another major component is choosing rewards that staff will find attractive and feel valued when they receive. Your team members need to feel the reward is meaningful and get excited about it, so that when they go above and beyond the call of duty, it will be worthwhile to them. Additionally, awards need to be distributed fairly. When developing a Rewards and Recognition program, it is vital to establish criteria to ensure organizational justice within the program. Last but not least, rewards should be distributed in a timely manner. Don’t wait too long to provide employees with the recognition they deserve – they may move to another organization before they realize they are valued.
An independent consulting agency that focuses on employee, team and organizational development, Sandra Summerhayes & Associates designs and delivers training sessions and seminars for various organizations throughout Ontario. For more information, log onto www.sandrasummerhayes.com.
