We all know that reward and recognition are important elements of job satisfaction. Its important to feel that we’re making a contribution, but not everyone has the ability to maintain a vision of what their contribution might be without some sort of external recognition. But time and again, we read research that proves money is not a primary motivator when it comes to engaging employees. This could be seen as a good thing when it comes to budgets. But it does mean that some thought needs to be put into alternative forms of reward.
When I read Hannah’s post on her Top 10 Guilt Free Rewards, it reminded me that there are bound to be equivalent elements for companies to use as ways of rewarding staff without just resorting to traditional financial incentives.
So I started to think about what those might be and I came up with a few ideas:
- Provide a budget for departmental days out. Change of environment and a shared activity will foster a better team culture, and staff will get the message that the organisation values balance.
- We’ve written about ‘duvet days’ before. Allowing staff to work from home for a certain proportion of their time, and giving them some chill out time is a way of showing you trust them to stay on target with their work.
- Just saying thank you is the classic easy-to-do but often-forgotten way of recognising people in the team.
- Provide a library, or a management book club structure. Being invited to join the management book club is a great way of motivating staff and improving their management perspective.
- Encourage staff to write a blog, or find another way of communicating with the world online. Writing skills will improve, networking is increased, and it shows you trust them to treat the company’s reputation responsibly.
- Provide some outside time – hold meetings outdoors in a garden somewhere. Green space and fresh air can’t be under-estimated.
- Giving someone responsibility for a new project can be seen as great recognition. It provides an opportunity for the team member to stretch their knowledge and ability, and it demonstrates your trust in their ability to do the job.
What have I left off the list? What no-cost or low-cost rewards have worked for your team?
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Photo credit: Whiskymac
Article by Vandy Massey
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Excellent post. Just see this informal poll currently ongoing on Bnet: http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=3016#comments
Cash ranks very far down the list on what motivates employees. What ranks highest? The need to do meaningful work with recognition as second. As I commented on this survey:
The results are not at all surprising. For many, especially Gen Y (if you believe all the research), doing something meaningful simply means knowing what their daily tasks are contributing to in the grand scheme of things — how they fit in the big picture and what value they bring to the table.
That’s the goal of STRATEGIC recognition — tie every employee recognition to a company value demonstrated in achievement of a strategic objective and you automatically show meaning — show employees how their valued efforts also deliver value. More on tenets of strategic recognition here: http://globoforce.blogspot.com/2009/02/applying-5-tenets-of-strategic-employee.html