7 Creative Ways to Reward Your Employees

Disengaged employees can cost your company a lot. In fact, studies show that 67% of employees are not engaged at work, and this can result in $7 trillion in lost productivity globally each year. If you want your employees to stay engaged at work, you need to ensure morale is high. One way to keep morale boosted is by knowing how to reward your employees by offering employee recognition and rewards.

Employee rewards are a strategy for recognizing team members’ achievements and outstanding behavior. Rewards can come in many shapes and sizes, but their ultimate goal is the same: help motivate people to do what they’re supposed to and show them the benefits of working hard.

Here are 7 creative ways you can reward your employees this year.

Recognize Employees in a Social Context

If you want to reward an employee for good work, let the whole company know about the excellent job that the employee has done. Make an announcement on your company’s preferred social network, or use a special rewards-focused social platform to highlight an employee’s achievements. Recognizing and rewarding your employees socially will encourage others to work hard, so that they can receive a company-wide shout-out, as well.

Gamify Achievement

Some people are motivated by the feeling of gamification; they want to win contests, get trophies, and climb the ranks. You can gamify your rewards process by allowing people to accrue points, then award them things like badges, trophies, and merchandise as they advance by exhibiting the desired behaviors. Reward your employees by making achievement into a game, and you’ll motivate your employees to compete with one another (or to top their own best performance), which can encourage sustained effort.

Allow Peers to Make Nominations

As a supervisor or manager, you may be able to motivate your employees to work hard. But, they may be even more motivated to stand out if you put the decision about workplace rewards in the hands of their peers. Rely on a nomination wizard where employees can submit nominations for people they think deserve recognition. Allowing peers to control the distribution of rewards empowers employees and makes them feel like they have a say in the workplace.

Offer Access to a Variety of Merchandise Choices

It’s very common for rewards programs to offer recipients a very small selection of potential rewards. However, if you’re wondering how to reward employees in a way that won’t force them to choose a reward from unappealing merchandise, offer a huge selection of prizes. That way, employees can get rewarded with something they actually want or will use, and you can avoid offering a workplace prize that’s not actually motivating. Consider offering rewards from restaurants, clothing stores, electronics outlets, and more. Some digital rewards platforms or services offer access to millions of items that employees can choose from.

Allow for Work or Schedule Based Rewards

Instead of offering trophies or gift cards, reward your employees by giving them something related to the workplace. For example, you can give people who do standout work an extra vacation day. Or, give them the chance to take summer Fridays off for a week longer than their peers. Alternatively, consider letting the hardest working employee of the week work from home on Friday, every week of the year. By linking hard work in the workplace with a reward that makes the workplace experience better for them, you can motivate team members to keep up their outstanding work consistently.

Improve Their Transportation Situation

Getting to and from work can be a hassle, depending on where you live–but it’s a necessary evil. Reward standout employees by making their commuting experience more enjoyable. Offer workers who take public transportation in big cities a free (covered) month of Uber or Lyft rides. Alternatively, if people drive to work, offer to pay for a month’s worth of gas, a special/close parking spot at the office, a car wash, or audiobooks they can listen to while they drive. Improving transportation for employees can improve their overall enjoyment of their work experience.

VIP Meetings

Does your company have VIPs associated with it? Maybe you have local celebrity clients, or the board members of your organization are bigwigs in town. Consider rewarding the hardest working employees with a chance to meet company VIPs. They can get to know people who are important to the organization, and the VIPs can get a chance to meet the people who are helping the company succeed.

If you want to make sure your employees are happy and engaged in their work, start by considering how to offer a rewards program in your office. Rewarding your employees helps to show them how much they are valued and appreciated, and it will help motivate people to do the best work they can do.

If you’re considering how to reward employees best, think about using the tools and services offered by CoreCentive for your in-office rewards. Over time, your rewards program will pay off again and again, and your employees will be happier being a part of your organization. For guidance in choosing and implementing a program for employee rewards, check out this helpful first-time employee recognition Buyer’s Guide.