Employees are the stepping stone to success in any organization. It is essential to have a workforce that is motivated and enthusiastic towards work. However, many organizations struggle to preserve top talent. There are various methods that an organization can use to retain employees. One common factor in all retention techniques and the most effective one is Rewards and Recognition (R & R).
One of the main factors to the success of R & R is that the employees feel valued and appreciated for the hard work and effort invested. Various R & R practices are being followed by companies, but with growing digital advances, it has been noticed that digital recognition has been appreciated the most by employees.
Following are some of the important aspects of digitized rewards and recognition (R&R):
- Spot Recognition
Gone are the days when employees would serve the same company for years and wait for the retirement benefits. People now look for R & R that will benefit them at the moment and give monetary benefits. Waiting for an annual evaluation to recognize your employees is not useful as it loses the charm of success. Hence, try and reward the employee as and when it happens by sending across a quick email, which will help reinforce the connection between positive behavior and performances you want to see repeatedly in your organization.
- Personalized rewards
Everyone feels appreciated and acknowledged when a particular prize or gift has your name embossed on it. Similarly, employees feel valued and recognized while receiving any award or gifts which leads to a positive work environment. You can send emails from a company-based intranet with personalized messages, like the number of sales or any big projects that the person has achieved with their name. Digital gift cards are one of the rewards that are appreciated by the employee's as these can be used at different online portals for several reasons. Personalizing any award creates a different aspect of employees’ view and makes them feel part of something big and creates the sense of responsibility to achieve bigger and better goals.
- Social recognition
Create a Facebook page where all the R & R can be posted with their achievements. LinkedIn and Yammer can also be used to display performances of an employee or a group of people who have excelled or achieved beyond exception. These platforms are user-friendly and accessible to all employees and managers for recognition and applaud their time and energy invested in attaining the goals. Sharing posts with personal connections will not only garner praises for an employee, but it will also promote your employer brand online easing recruitment process.
- Digital Programs
With widespread digitalization work environment and culture has changed immensely. It is essential to incorporate the new techniques of R & R to acquire the desired results. Many online employee benefits portals can transform a dull, formal scheme into an interesting concept. New initiates like employee-nominated training and development and experiential and lifestyle-based rewards can be claimed and monitored through a portal. These portals are cost and retention effective, which many HR representatives are incorporating in their organizations.
- Educational programs
A lot of companies arrange for Rewards and Recognition and yet fail to retain people. Many of the employees, no matter the age group have a what's in it for me attitude and do not perceive monetary gains. Incorporating educational courses or sponsoring further education for employees and direct family members can work wonders for educational enthusiasts. PepsiCo has recently awarded one of their employee for completing 50 years of service and proudly follows the educational programs and encourages people to work for social development programs by providing leaves for volunteering. Shiona Watson, senior director, HR at PepsiCo said in an interview
"We do this through our Helping Hands employee donation and volunteer program, where are people are provided with volunteering leave, so they can work directly with charitable organizations," said Shiona Watson, Senior Director, HR at PepsiCo
Conclusion:
An organization cannot function to its actual potential until all the units work in harmony. Just like a vehicle needs all its components to perform the engine mainly as it is the heart of an automotive system, employees are the engine of every industry. You can’t function without your base being firm. Employees are the main contributors to company’s success. Recognizing the hard work and efforts not only maintains a positive environment, it also encourages one to push their limits and achieve more. Concepts like referring a friend bonus and additional staff recognition rewards help in inspiring and engaging your workforce. Success is no accident. It is earned with the hard work and perseverance by everyone contributing to building your company.
The concept of R & R is not to promote monetary gains but to inculcate the pride and attachment towards the workplace. It is crucial to understand the primary focus which is to have long-term relations with employees and even an email appreciating the hard work is sufficient to make work enjoyable and not a compulsion.