Is it time to be innovative with your Rewards strategy?

This is the age of young start-ups where everything is up for experimentation. Things like bonuses that once stood as the beacon of performance evaluation no longer apply to this fast-paced environment. Even the more established businesses are taking a leaf out of the start-up book and trying out reward strategies that represent their own unique culture and creativity. 

There really are no limits to the creativity involved. Some organizations are dabbling with gamification, some with peer rewards, while others roll out the red carpet for outstanding employees with a front-row parking spot, a bottle of expensive champagne and the works.

So, where does your reward strategy fit into this new scheme of things? More importantly, is it time to reevaluate your organization’s reward strategy?

Some of the biggest names in global business have given into change and are coming up with some innovative new ways to reward employees. Many organizations are experimenting with the idea of individual rewards and team rewards to achieve a balanced program. These organizations combine their clear understanding of their business objectives and design the rewards program that help them meet these goals in the short as well as the long term. Companies like GAP, Westin, and DDB Worldwide are already working on blended models that include monetary compensation, gifts, commendations, and perks that go beyond the ubiquitous annual bonus for the employees. Let’s take a look at few real world examples to understand them better.

As we mentioned earlier, things have moved on from the simple idea of an annual bonus for the employees. Companies are now experimenting with more frequent bonuses in the form of cash or stock options, sometimes in exchange for new ideas, sometimes in exchange for everyday workplace performance. 

Gifts work best to reinforce positive behavior in employees. They need not be the most expensive items in the market, but they must have a perceived value that incentivizes employees for their efforts. 

When done in right proportions and with fairness, acknowledgements and recognitions can help cultivate positive behavior among employees just as well as gifts and cash remunerations. In fact, some experts believe it to be more effective compared to cash incentives in the long run. 

Perks are often called subtle rewards built into the everyday work environment. They help in attracting and retaining top talent, apart from encouraging employees to perform.

Once you have decided on your rewards strategy, your PR and HR teams will need to come up with a strong communications plan to back that up. Employees must be fully aware of the reward program - every expectation, and every incentive must be thoroughly understood by each employee. Make sure that everyone is clear about any changes in the existing incentives policy.

Apart from these, you must ensure that the reward strategy is fair, and consistent to be impactful for the organization as well as the employees. Lastly, keep a regular check on the performance metrics you define for your reward policy. Make sure that the plan is delivering appropriate results for the organization. 

To summarize everything, your reward strategy must be in-line with your organizational goals, be fair to the scope of achievements, recognize and differentiate between individual and team effort, and add value to the lives of your employees to ensure attraction and retention of the best talent so that your organization can achieve its goals. If your existing strategy is delivering all of these results, then you probably don’t need to tweak it. But if in case it is not, then it is indeed time for you to be innovative and rejig your rewards strategy that truly works for you, your employees and your organization.