Reward and Recognition Scheme

A Reward and Recognition Scheme for All

There isn’t a reward and recognition scheme that fits into the ‘one size fits all’ description. So what should you be looking out for? Look for a scheme that not only rewards and recognises employees on a long term basis, such as bonuses or other financial awards, but focus on non-financial and softer approaches as well, such as sending someone kudos. This will help keep your employees engaged and motivated throughout their employment with you.

Reward and Recognition in the Workplace

Reward and recognition in the workplace should accommodate employees that are based in the office, have a hybrid working pattern or work from home. Typically, this means that the most suitable reward and recognition scheme would lean towards a digital solution.

So what does recognition mean to employees? Reward and recognition supports everything an employee looks for in an employer such as company culture. A reward and recognition scheme is influential when improving or maintaining a positive company culture, which is one of the deciding factors of whether an employee stays with their current employer or considers moving to a different company.

Positive company culture is desirable for any employee. Companies such as Google who have a positive company culture attract many millennials, as these employers are considered forward-thinking and are not constrained by how things used to be done. Employers have always known the importance of their employees, and have tried to retain talented employees through increasing salary. Although a salary increase is still desirable, employers are now looking towards reward and recognition to improve retention rates, increase productivity and boost morale.

Should I invest in a Reward and Recognition Scheme?

It sounds simple, but harnessing the power of ‘thank you’ can be your most powerful tool. Glassdoor found that 80% of employees would be willing to work harder if they felt appreciated by their manager, and 70% said they’d feel better about themselves and their efforts if they received thanks from their manager more regularly. Subsequently, a reward and recognition scheme goes some way in helping you meet your responsibility for the wellbeing of your employees.

This leads me on nicely to the benefits of reward and recognition:

1. Improve and support your company culture.
2. Make your workplace a desirable place to work.
3. Promote stronger company values.
4. Increase positive engagement and drive productivity.
5. Drive interaction between employees, creating stronger, more unified teams and departments.
6. Improve organisational health and mental wellbeing.

How can you judge the success of a reward and recognition scheme?

What is important is achieving a return on investment (ROI). One of the key measurements to analyse is engagement rate (how many employees are using the scheme). As an employer, you should be able to frequently update yourself on who has been rewarded and who has been recognised. When reward and recognition is effectively ingrained into the company culture, employees will also be aware of colleagues recognition of hard work.

In addition, a simple employee survey can assess the effectiveness of your reward and recognition scheme. Does your team feel appreciated for their hard work? Do they feel that they have been recognised for hard work? Perhaps their wellbeing has improved since the launch of the scheme? If the answer is yes, it’s likely that you’re getting good value for money.

From a financial aspect, the average budget for an employee reward and recognition scheme is 1-2% of payroll. Whilst there are employers that spend as much as 10% on payroll according to a study by World at Work.