Recognizing and rewarding employees is crucial—it’s what helps them stay motivated, happy, and eager to do their best work. The way companies recognize and reward their employees have changed a lot this year with everything going virtual. It’s something that they may have even doubled-down on, especially as nearly 40% of workers feel that something their employers can do to help them overcome the challenges of working from home is to recognize and reward them.
Why? Simply put, when everyone is working from home, and work-life balance has become a thing of the past, you don't get recognized nearly as often for your achievements. And that recognition goes a long way: It keeps employees motivated, happy at work, and encourages them to do their best work.
Ten Spot uses its own platform not only to create connections and increase its own employee engagement but to recognize and reward its employees. Here are three examples of employee rewards and recognition that could be easily implemented to benefit your employees.
1. Make it a Social Affair. Virtually, of Course!
Even once everything returns to normal and employees go back into the office, having the ability to connect with each other on a virtual social platform at work opens up the potential for regular and instant employee recognition that the whole company can take part in. Ideally, you will find a platform that helps create a celebratory culture with features like chat, leaderboards, goal setting, shout-outs, and rewards, all of which allow teams to acknowledge every achievement, no matter how big or small they may be.
2. Challenge Your Employees with Some Healthy & Fun Competition
While your employees might already compete to achieve top sales goals or to get a bonus or promotion, that’s not what we’re talking about here. Ten Spot’s found that putting in place challenges that foster friendly competition amongst co-workers also help build a collaborative and supportive company culture, establish cross-department friendships, and improve teamwork. Through these competitions - which may range from step-challenges, to trivia battles, to mindfulness - employees come together to set their own goals whether that’s walking a certain number of steps a week or doing a daily meditation exercise. It provides a great opportunity for co-workers to cheer each other on both during the challenge, as well as when a team member or their whole team reaches a goal.
3. Rewards of Comfort, Convenience, and Self-Care Can Go a Long Way
Spending the majority of our time at home when it comes to both work and life can cause weariness in the most adaptable of employees. While cash bonuses are always popular, we’ve found that gift certificates for meal & grocery delivery, streaming entertainment, meditation apps, and fitness apps, and equipment have become some of our most popular and sought after rewards since the pandemic started. While not a typical reward, they can make life a little bit better - whether that means not having to cook one night for your family or having an outlet to help you stay fit, destress, or just relax.
