Businesses are nothing without their people, and their successes is based on the hard work and dedication of their employees. Therefore, making sure employees feel valued and appreciated is extremely important. Showing your appreciation can go a long way. If employees feel that their efforts are valued and recognised, they tend to be more loyal, dedicated, and productive.
Financial rewards are great, but there are other ways to reward your team too. Here are some ideas.
- Understand what motivates each individual
Understanding what motivates everyone is vital, as not all employees will be motivated by the same rewards. People have different priorities in life.
This can be done through honest conversations with each employee. Surveys are also a great way to understand their views. Anonymity helps people express their opinions more freely. You can then use the information to personalise the rewards you give.
It doesn’t always have to be big rewards. For example, some employees might need more frequent feedback, more social events, or just better coffee!
- Say thank you
Saying thank you can be particularly motivating and can make employees feel valued and appreciated. There are various ways to say thank you, it can be either in one-to-one meetings, personal or team-wide emails, or through social media. A thank you message can certainly feel rewarding after hard work and sacrifices to achieve goals.
- Give shout-outs to high performing employees
Some employees will find public recognition tremendously rewarding, displaying names of those who have exceeded expectations on a board, social media and newsletters will make them feel good, as well as potentially motivate others to get this same recognition.
- Help employees position themselves for career progression
Performance reviews are a great way to set career goals with your employees and understand where they want to take their career. Dedicating some time with your employees can help them best position themselves for a promotion. It is also a great way to show them that you care about their career progression.
However, it can be done in a more informal setting too. Frequent feedback and conversations about development can be helpful and will make your employees feel heard and understood.
- Give employees more challenging tasks or trust them with more responsibility
Giving your employees more challenging tasks or more responsibility is a great way to show them that you think they are doing a great job. The reward is offering employees the chance to learn and grow their knowledge where they may not have had the opportunity before. Treat your employees like adults, by showing them trust, allowing space for learning and errors.
- Allow flexible working possibilities
Working remotely doesn’t always mean flexible working. Allowing your employees to decide their working habits is a great way to reward them, as well as showing that you trust them to deliver outcomes.
- Give them an afternoon off
By giving employees an afternoon off feels reqarding. It can often give them a renewed drive to continue working hard. For example, on a nice sunny day allowing your employees to leave early shows appreciation and promotes a healthy work-life balance.