It’s how people feel that drives the motivation deep within them. Studies show a company culture that values promoting positive emotions is more likely to result in higher employee engagement, motivation, and retention. Ultimately, a leader’s role is to inspire and motivate employees to do their best. They must create a learning and development environment that encourages trust and growth to achieve this goal. Check out our employee engagement programs here. Otherwise, let’s get cracking with the top 13 ways to reward employees.
Reasons for Rewarding Employees
As incentives go, rewarding employees is one of the most effective ways to increase employee satisfaction. Taking time to recognize your employees’ achievements is a powerful motivator, helping to foster engagement and increase productivity. We cover 6 benefits of rewarding your employees in this article.
Top 13 ways to reward employees
Now that we understand why finding fun opportunities can positively impact the employee experience, it’s time to talk about the how. There are as many types of employee rewards as there are employees. Tailoring your rewards program to your company culture and employee needs is important. From cash to gifts and experiences, here are just some of our favorite employee reward ideas.
1. Vouchers
There are dozens of vouchers employees would be thrilled to receive. Personal training, spa sessions, weekend getaways, salon services, and more are all ways to show you value not just what an employee brings to their work but who they are as a person.
2. Gift cards
Gift card employee rewards are still one of the most impactful types of employee recognition. Rewards from retailers that employees are aware of and shop from have been shown to engage and motivate employees and make them feel appreciated.
3. Plants
Who knew? British and Dutch researchers discovered that having office plants created a better work environment. How does greenery make people feel good about themselves? One theory is plants increase engagement and make people more emotionally involved in their work. Just be sure to choose a species that doesn’t require a lot of light or effort to keep alive!
4. Books
There are a lot of bookworms out there. For them, physical or digital books are always a welcome recognition. You can give a year’s subscription to a book-of-the-month service for larger rewards.
5. Tech Accessories
Headphones, speakers, and smartwatches are some of the hottest rewards out there and can instill seriously fun competition in your teams.
6. Volunteer Day
Most employees have a favorite charity or non-profit they support. A day off to volunteer or a contribution in their name recognizes a cause near and dear to an employee’s heart.
7. Camp Out in the Corner Office
Ceding your office for a day to an employee is a sign of respect and accomplishment. Not only does it show you recognize their achievement, it also says you see them as leadership material.
8. Dine with the Boss
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, access to leadership on a one-to-one basis can increase loyalty and make an employee feel their ideas and opinions are valued. For managers, it’s a great way to connect with employees they might not normally be able to.
9. Virtual Recognition
With many employees still working remotely, rewards like home delivery, eCards, and virtual recognition events help to keep employees feeling like they’re connected.
10. Free Lunch
Whether it’s to reward an individual or a team effort, everyone loves free food! Of course, winners get to choose the cuisine.
11. Time Off
More than just a little R&R, giving an employee a day off indicates you care about an employee’s work-life balance. In many ways, rewarding employees with time off has far more worth than the monetary value of a paid day.
12. Press Coverage
Write a website or newsletter feature about an employee’s or team’s accomplishments. Promote it on social media and if it’s noteworthy to the community, have it covered in the local press.
13. Cash
Yes, there are still times when cold hard cash is a much-welcome reward for a job well done. A way to make cash rewards more collaborative is to establish a “piggy bank” that’s filled over time. When it’s full, the winning team gets to split it.
Gamification and Employee Rewards
The bottom line here is that while an employee of the month awards can still be nice to receive, they’re not immediate and don’t reward the daily or weekly accomplishments employees achieve. Effective recognition is all about timing. When you reward employees often, you guarantee the behaviors that earned the reward will be repeated.
Done right, employee recognition programs can greatly impact your organization’s success. We hope these Top 13 ways to reward employees have inspired you.
About BeeLiked
BeeLiked believes gamification is a great way to boost employee engagement and that employee recognition goes a long way in ensuring employees are getting the rewards that best inspire and motivate them.
Employee engagement and gamification can be the key to the happier workforce you’ve been looking for. BeeLiked’s fully customizable gamification solutions are a terrific way for your organization to recognize employees creatively for their efforts in helping your company reach its goals. We’d love to help you inspire and motivate your employees with our unique platform and various gamification services. Get in touch with us today to set up a no-obligation discovery call and to learn more.
