Remember, a business is only as strong as its employees, as employees are literally the backbone behind any place of work; it was once said organization is the sum of its people. For that reason, ensuring your employees are as productive and as efficient as they can possibly be is absolutely essential, and that is why employee morale and recognition is so incredibly vital. Remember, your employees are working for you, to earn money for your business and to hopefully make you as successful as possible. More often than not, they will work hard, will put in a great deal of hours, and as a result, could stand to use a little praise and recognition for their loyal service. Rewarding employees and recognizing their achievements and their hard work can be hugely beneficial as, not only does it help to show them that you do value them and appreciate all that they do for you, it also helps to lift morale, makes them enjoy their job and feel appreciated, and actually want to work even harder as a result (increasing productivity). If you’re looking for a few ideas on how you can reward your employees, here are some suggestions you may wish to consider.


Offer them paid time off – Obviously you probably aren’t going to be able to stretch to offer them an additional week off work, along with their vacation days, but one great way of really showing your appreciation for hard working employees is to offer them a little extra time off work, fully-paid. If for example, your business works weekends, why not offer them the weekend off work? If however, you’re a traditional 9 – 5, Monday – FridayCompany, how about giving them the Friday off? That way, they get a 3-day weekend.

Offer them gifts – By offering simple gifts to hard working employees, again, you are able to show them just how much you appreciate them and how thankful you are to have them working for you. When you’re looking for gift ideas how about considering corporate gift baskets or a hamper containing a selection of foods and drinks? You may wish to buy them a bottle of their favourite drink, or even a bunch of flowers. Obviously your gift will probably not change their lives, it will show them that you care and appreciate their efforts.

Organize a staff day out or party – If you’re looking to reward your entire team and recognize all of their collective achievements, you may want to consider organizing a staff day out or a staff party. Some fun ideas include things such as: Go Karting, Mini Golf, Adventure days, meals out, or trips to the theatre. Alternatively, a staff party would also go down a treat, and that way, if you organized it, say, on a Friday evening, you wouldn’t need to shut up shop for the day, and, providing you don’t open Saturdays, your employees would then have the entire weekend to nurse their hangovers, before returning to work refreshed on Monday morning.

Provide a Commuting allowance or cover the entire cost of an employee’s commuting costs for a month. Some companies offer a pre-tax commuting benefit that allows their employees to purchase train or bus tickets or fuel on a pre-tax basis. While this a good on-going benefit that the employee can signup for, why not offer to cover the entire commuting cost for a month as a reward.

Spotlight employees on company website, newsletters or a give a recognition note from the department head. This is a great way to show the employee that the hard work is recognized and appreciated. It also serves as a motivator for other employees to strive for the same reward.

Provide the latest technological computers and gadgets to your employees. While this reward choice is possiblythe less conventional because of potential budget constraints, rewarding your employees with the latest technology can improve productivity, motivation and reduce their frustration and stress with out-dated office equipment as well as time lost in resolving technology related problems.

Provide access to a subsidized gym or some fitness equipment onsite. This will not only help to reduce office stress but will also help to increase employee motivation, energy and potential team building while combating the sedentary office life. This is a win-win situation for both the organization and the employees.

"People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards." --Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru.