It’s nice to be appreciated. No matter who you are, or if you tend to shrink from compliments, we all secretly like to know we’re meeting with the approval of others. Not only that, when we feel appreciated, we tend to produce better work.
It could be quite a simple token, like something to celebrate with flowers, for example, or even tea and coffee gifts. On the other end of the spectrum, it may involve a whole event to recognize the hard work of an entire department. Either way, the acknowledgment itself is the key.
Broadcast Your Thanks
There are two distinct aspects to the act of rewarding or congratulating another person. There’s the part where you directly convey thanks to that person, and then there’s the part where this thanks or reward becomes more publicly known.
In the case of a valued team or individual, whichever the case may be, taking your appreciation to the next level by publicly announcing it can be an effective motivational tool. Doing this can have a dual effect on performance, more generally.
Not only will the recipient be rightly rewarded for their great work and have this public acknowledgment, but others will see that your workplace praises hard work. In addition, it will tend to incentivize productivity throughout your business too.
Special Occasions Are a Winner
Celebrating particular achievements by coming up with novel treats is a good way to improve morale. Everybody likes a ‘dress-down Friday’ with a slice of pizza or any number of similar ideas. It makes the day seem different and fun.
It’s a great way to dispel that dull routine and needn’t cost all that much either. It could also shake the ‘fuddy-duddy boss’ image at the same time! It’s all about putting in a little extra creative effort and can reap real rewards for your company in the process.
Free Time as a Reward
Who would argue with an extra day of paid leave? It’s an option that’s been around forever, but there are always cost-effectiveness qualms that crop up. The thing is, if an employee has been very good, you may calculate that they’re worth that extra day.
Again, it’s something that you might even decide to codify formally so that you create a kind of leader board in which the monthly winner is granted a half-day during the week or something to that effect. It might go down very well among your staff, you never know.
The thing is, industries vary greatly. Different jobs attract different personalities, so only you will know with specificity which kinds of rewards will be practical for your business. It may be that time off isn’t effective for you, but something similar might be.
Cash is King
As an option, the cash reward is perhaps not the most original or exciting idea, but people could all use a little extra cash. It doesn’t have to break the bank to be effective since even modest amounts are highly appreciated.
The incentive aspect of the cash reward system is crystal clear, too. As with time-off ideas, you can easily instantiate a gentle competition based on any number of criteria to create that additional bump in quality or productivity.
A drawback of the competition idea is that it may also generate feelings of ill-will if it’s not done thoughtfully. A ‘shark tank’ mentality will usually not be effective and could backfire quite badly, so you’ll need to mull it over properly.
Concluding Remarks
The business sector is a wide-ranging space filled with all kinds of different people. It’s incumbent on leaders to know what kinds of rewards will be effective and appreciated by staff and put those into place.
With modern mobility among employees, it may even be that these kinds of programs become increasingly necessary to retain good morale in your workforce and prevent them from simply finding greener pastures elsewhere.
At any rate, work is a big part of our lives, so producing a workplace in which everyone feels valued and appreciated should be a goal of leadership. In the end, people will respond well when they feel respected and appropriately honored for their hard work.