It’s no secret that employee retention means something completely different today than it did 15 years ago. In the past, companies designed incentive programs that thanked their loyal employees for their 10, 15, 25+ years of dedicated. Today, longevity is a rarity.
More and more often, in today’s changing world, businesses are completely restructuring their incentive programs to thank their employees instantly – even after just one year of service. Companies are having to adapt to this trending workplace culture and new norms to keep their millennial generation employees engaged, fostering company loyalty and increasing retention.
Successful Employee Recognition Tips
Richelle Taylor breaks down 10 easy steps to follow in this article from Incentive Magazine that highlights how to implement a successful employee recognition strategy. “With a thoughtful plan, your organization can boost employee engagement and productivity – and reap the rewards of higher retention, lower recruiting costs, an expanded customer base, higher revenues and enhanced profitability.”
A recap of her recommendations:
- Plan With a Solid Strategy.
What are your goals when implementing an incentive program? “When employees understand how their performance directly affects your organization’s mission, they see that everyone is on the same team, working toward something bigger than themselves.”
- Communicate
“Nothing is more frustrating than a program with confusing goals or unattainable awards.” Communicate the goals, mission and rules of the program.
- Deliver On-the-Spot Rewards
In today’s ‘faster’ and ‘give me now’ society, it’s more important than ever to immediately reward and recognize an employee when they’re going above and beyond. This positive behavior will spread like wildfire in an office when they’re being rewarded in front of their peers.
- Entice With Relevant Rewards
There is no ‘one size fits all’ reward any more. “Your millennial new hire in San Francisco probably has different tastes than your seasoned, Baby Boomer employee in Chicago.” Find a gift that gives ultimate choice – Let your employees tell you what motivates them!
- Develop a Fair Program
If the incentive program is confusing or seems impossible to achieve an award, it will have a de-motivating and negative impact.
- Manage Program Efforts Within a Single Platform
Don’t make your employees chase their rewards. Combine recognition efforts into one program that establishes consistency.
- Include Upper-Management
“Programs that embrace corporate culture from the top down reap increased employee buy-in.”
- Use Technology to Boost Employee Engagement
With social media being extremely relevant today, “Employees want to share their achievements with friends” so “make use of social media, collaboration tools and mobile technologies as much as possible.”
- Seek Continuous Feedback
Let your employees tell you what’s working and what’s not. Learn from the positive and negative feedback.
- Develop Measurable Results
“Determine the right metrics for your program’s success.”
When you follow these simple steps, recognizing employees will get easier over time, and will ultimately play a key role to your organization’s success. You will build a well-oiled rewarding machine and your valued employees will take notice! For more information on successful tools to recognize your employees instantly, visit www.ArrayEnterprises.com.
