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Motivating and Rewarding Employees

Employees are motivated when you lead them to accomplishments of which they can be proud, and then recognize what they have done.Recognition and rewards can increase employees’ energy and enthusiasmwithout being costly or elaborate.

What and whom to recognize

Recognition and rewards are most motivating when they are given for effortsthat are important to the company’s goals. As a manager, don’t wait for thecompany to officially thank employees for doing a great job or going beyond thecall of duty. It’s part of your role to recognize and reward such things as

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Meeting goals and milestones.

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Extra effort by individuals or teams.

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Steady dependable effort.

Be sure to recognize and reward the unsung heroes, suchas the receptionist who fields a rush of calls every day, the IT person who solvesyour equipment problems, or the employee in accounting who gets thepaychecks out every week.

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Work you are not able to do yourself.

One manager gave a special reward toemployees who caught and solved problems she herself had missed.

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Work done by people outside the company.

You might take a well-liked sales rep outto lunch, or invite the owners of the popular pizza place next door to your annualdinner. Be sure to check any company policies regarding limits of spending onoutside vendors.

Suggestions on giving rewards

The most important reward you can give is appreciation and respect for work that contributed to the company’s goals. So whatever the specific reward beinggiven, explain what the obstacles or challenges were, what the person (or team)did, and what it means for the company. Here are some tips on giving rewards:

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Make the reward personal

. Find out what the individual would really appreciate. Itmight be a dinner at the employee’s favorite restaurant, or a pass to anamusement park the employee’s children would love.

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Make the reward memorable

. Cash just disappears when the bills are paid, but avacation will always be remembered and associated with the effort and rewardthat made it possible.

Overview

Recognition and rewardscan be motivating withoutbeing expensive or time-consuming.

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What and whom torecognize

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Suggestions on givingrewards

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Ways to offer recognition

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Timing

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Spreading the word

Motivating and Rewarding Employees

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Make the reward visible.

You might introduce customers or clients to theemployees who produce what they buy or use. This show of respect can mean alot to employees who may feel their work is invisible.

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Reward employees with work they would really like to do

-- work that is exciting,critical to the company, or good for the employee’s career.

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Give something useful, something that eliminates a hassle in the employee’s life

, such ashalf a day off for difficult-to-schedule appointments.

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Give rewards to employees’ families

, especially to recognize extra effort that mayhave kept the employee away from home. Passes to movies, amusement parks, orfamily-oriented events might be popular.

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Reward employees with some personal contact with management.

Many companieshave events such as a lunch or coffee hour that bring executives and employeestogether.

Ways to offer recognition

Here are some suggestions on offering recognition:

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Take note of which style of recognition an individual employee is comfortable with.

Somepeople like public recognition, some prefer it to be private. Some like ahumorous presentation, some prefer a dignified one.

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Make the most of whatever company reward programs already exist

, and make sureemployees know about them.

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Encourage employees to suggest people they know who are worthy of recognition.

Somework groups have a natural “champion” who takes pleasure in seeing otherpeople get the credit they deserve.

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Keep your eyes and ears open.

One manager found out that a group of workers hadtrouble getting home after their late shift and set up taxi service for them.

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If someone in the work group is particularly good at making reward presentations, let him or her help you do so.

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Create low-cost spontaneous awards.

They might be certificates, plaques, or ribbonsthat you can make up in a minute when you spot an effort that deservesrecognition.

Timing

Recognition is more satisfying the closer it is to the work being recognized. Hereare some tips for giving the right recognition at the right time:

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Be timely, even spontaneous.

One manager kept a bell that he rang to let the wholegroup know a milestone had been achieved.

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Motivating and Rewarding Employees

Basic steps to motivate your employee without a large cost. It provides with the What, How and for Who.

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Category:	Business/Law > Marketing
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Upload Date:	05/16/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	motivation motivating rewarding employee retention employee relations increase productivity (more tags) motivation motivating rewarding employee retention employee relations increase productivity recognize employee (fewer)