{"id":3217,"date":"2021-11-19T13:22:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T13:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/?p=3217"},"modified":"2021-11-19T13:22:20","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T13:22:20","slug":"employee-rewards-and-recognition-boost-employee-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/employee-rewards-and-recognition-boost-employee-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Rewards and Recognition &#8211; Boost Employee Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The long-standing debate about how to best motivate others &#8211; which is better, the carrot or the stick? &#8211; is now over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The jury is in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the evidence is overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You get more flies with honey than with vinegar. And you get better performance, and over a longer period of time, with positive reinforcement rather than with any threat of punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, with this understanding, we need to look at the best ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/lensa.com\/insights\/25-employee-engagement-ideas-to-motivate-your-team-in-2020\/\">boost employee engagement and motivate your team<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some rewards and recognition strategies work better than others. And there are a few pitfalls to avoid along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this short article, we\u2019ll take a look at a few core concepts that will help you devise the rewards and recognition plan that is best suited for your team and your specific needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Objective<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>While giving rewards and recognizing the outstanding achievements of a company\u2019s workers is the right thing to do, we don\u2019t do it for solely this reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CEOs and upper management rarely do things merely out of the goodness of their heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There must be something they are gaining in return. Implementing a rewards and recognition strategy for employees is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By rewarding and recognizing the achievements of your workers, you should obtain in exchange:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>An increase in employee retention<\/li><li>This means that you are spending less time and money on recruiting, onboarding, and training.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>An increase in productivity<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/en\/documents\/3982467\/4-recognition-and-rewards-program-levers-for-driving-per\">A recent study <\/a>finds that with a good rewards and recognition program in place, productivity can increase by as much as 11%<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A greater cohesion within the team<\/li><li>Offering rewards and recognition for outstanding work is one way you can <a href=\"https:\/\/lensa.com\/insights\/how-to-deal-with-office-politics\/\">curb the negative effects of office politics<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Key performance indicators, such as employee retention and productivity, should be relatively easy to track and quantify. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will know if you have implemented a rewards and recognition program that is right for your time when you see an improvement in these categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Underlying Philosophy<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/rizIMsZAEiVjFAOL7Z0R-HuND6QjraiQlQOsurS0va0tSugxOHhJ1N1OY-Ts-n_DayW-YMLG3f857-k8TqDCWCliLC4ymIfpryzNn37K1uHtiUmkhwZA9qvBkFDTBACp_JN84OYG\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Link to the royalty-free image by NeONBRAND <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/2RRq1BHPq4E\">here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treat your employees like you would want them to treat your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you buy in to this philosophy, then you should also be ready to accept its implications when the philosophy is extrapolated and employed on a large scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How you treat your employees will go a long way towards informing your employees on how they should treat your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employees receive a salary as compensation for their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, if you want them to go above and beyond, it will take more than a salary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It will take offering praise, recognition, and rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Likewise, a customer receives a product or a service in exchange for their money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, if you want your customers to go above and beyond &#8211; repeat business, upselling, evangelizing for your company, leaving positive reviews, etc. &#8211; it will take more than offering a good product or service at a good price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Difference Between Rewards and Recognition<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>A reward is transactional. You get something in return for doing something &#8211; a finder\u2019s fee for returning a lost pet to its owner; cash back in exchange for reaching a spending benchmark, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewards are effective at incentivizing performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are especially useful in punctual situations &#8211; in seasonal work when there is a dramatic increase in work that needs to be carried out; for a special promotion when more is asked of the team in order to maximize the promotion, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognition is not transactional. There is an emotional element to it. Recognition is given on a more personal level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are recognized for <em>who you are<\/em> rather than for <em>what you did.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This distinction is important as it helps reinforce how people equate a large part of their identity with their job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People often define themselves by what they do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you meet someone new, one of the first questions that is often asked is \u201cWhat do you do for a living?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this way, recognition is a good way to further enable employees to identify with their role in the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The closer someone\u2019s identity is tied to what they do, the more attention and dedication they will spend on doing their job to the best of their abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Popular Examples of Rewards<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Since rewards are transactional, they should be either tangible items or items that can redeemed for tangible things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Performance bonuses<\/li><li>Commissions<\/li><li>Gift cards<\/li><li>Gifts (merchandise, food &amp; drink, restaurant tickets, etc.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Popular Examples of Recognition<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Another word for recognition, in this context, is \u2018praise\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Employee of the month award<\/li><li>Public thank you (in a speech made in front of the team)<\/li><li>Private thank you (in a thank you note or email)<\/li><li>Peer-to-peer recognition (similar to an award but is voted on by the team and not by upper management)<\/li><li>Celebrating employee birthdays<\/li><li>Featuring employees on the company website or on the company social media account<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential Pitfalls to Avoid<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>As harmless as recognizing the achievements of members of your team may at first seem, this practice does add a dynamic that &#8211; if not handled correctly &#8211; could potentially disrupt team chemistry or worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Introducing rewards and recognition could add a competitive dynamic to the group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not all members of your team may feel comfortable competing with their colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some team members may feel any number or any combination of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Feelings of favoritism (that rewards or recognition are given out for personal and not professional reasons)<\/li><li>Feelings of failure or inadequacy (if a team member is continuously passed over when it comes to giving out rewards or recognition)<\/li><li>Suspicions of credit stealing and budding feelings of resentment<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important to monitor the effects of a rewards and recognition strategy on the individuals on your team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewards and recognition affect people on a personal and emotional level. Not everyone reacts the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bottom Line<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewards and recognition are an excellent way to boost employee morale, foster company loyalty, increase employee retention and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewards are transactional, while recognition is more personal and is equivalent to praise (either public or private).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Introducing rewards and recognition also introduces a competitive dynamic to the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And not all team members may feel comfortable with this dynamic, especially if they feel it is not being done in a fair and professional way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The long-standing debate about how to best motivate others &#8211; which is better, the carrot or the stick? &#8211; is now over. The jury is in. And the evidence is overwhelming. You get more flies with honey than with vinegar. And you get better performance, and over a longer period of time, with positive reinforcement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[852],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3217"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}