Workplace culture has never been more important—particularly amidst today’s workplace revolution and the age of quiet quitting. Improving culture to boost profitability and productivity, and also to retain productive employees, is key to success. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 4 million workers quit their jobs each month on average last year, compared with 1.75 million in 2019. Employee rewards programs and culture improvements can help companies boost employee satisfaction, retention, productivity, and loyalty—here’s the how and why.
Employee Priorities and Satisfaction Have Shifted
Because of the pandemic, the way people work and what they expect from their employers have changed significantly. Employees aren’t solely focused on financial compensation or in-office perks. Instead, they want to enjoy a positive work experience, including flexibility for remote work and better work/life balance. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends survey found that respondents consider organizational culture was the biggest influence on companies’ ability to nurture employees’ sense of belonging.
Unfortunately, the majority of employees seem unhappy with their current workplace cultures. According to Alight’s 2021 Employee Wellbeing Mindset Study, 54% of respondents classified their overall employee experience as negative, compared with 44% in 2020 prior to the pandemic.
Employee Recognition Plays an Important Role in Team Morale and Productivity
High levels of disengagement among employees serve as a key reminder that employee happiness and morale need to be prioritized. The quiet quitting trend is a perfect example of why.
A powerful driver of employee satisfaction is recognition, and research has shown employees value and appreciate being recognized by their leaders. According to a SurveyMonkey poll, 82% of respondents consider recognition to be important to their workplace happiness. And according to research from Blackhawk Network, about half of U.S. employees surveyed report that being thanked and recognized by their employer is more important since the pandemic began.
Research consistently finds that people don’t think their employers are doing enough to recognize their efforts. A BambooHR and Quantum Workplace study found that 53% of respondents want more recognition from their immediate supervisor. And nearly half of respondents to another Blackhawk Network study would seek out new employment with an employer that does a better job of rewarding, incentivizing and recognizing them.
How Employers Can Take a Thoughtful Approach to Employee Rewards Programs
A strong rewards program is key to driving productivity, retention and morale.
This means regularly rewarding and engaging with your employees around notable workplace achievements (sales goals hit, large project completed, etc.) and also seasonal milestones (such as winter holidays.) The key is delivering a steady drumbeat of appreciation and thanks, and tailoring rewards to your teams’ specific needs and preferences. Research from BambooHR and Quantum Workplace found that only 56% of employees surveyed get “thoughtful recognition” from their manager. You simply can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to recognition.
Whether you want to provide monetary recognition awards like gift cards, experiences like team celebrations or instead explore social media shout outs, there are many tools today that make it easy to send varied rewards. A great recognition strategy should also translate effectively to remote team members working from home.
When executing your rewards program, here are a few key factors to ensure it resonates with employees:
- Emphasize public recognition. Public praise is not only greatly appreciated by the employee receiving recognition, but it also becomes a learning opportunity. By praising what behaviors and achievements are valued at the company, this allows the entire team to understand what meaningful goals for the organization look like and serves as a motivator to work toward them.
- Lean on personalized messages. A canned “thanks for your hard work” note or comment doesn’t come across as overly thoughtful. Instead, call out specific actions or achievements that set the employee apart and were particularly appreciated.
- Provide rewards employees will actually love. Not everyone appreciates the same kind of rewards. For example, while everyone loves gift cards, a gift card to a coffee shop won’t mean much to a team member who doesn’t like coffee. Take the time to know your employees so you can tailor rewards based on their interests and passions outside of work (for example, give a new homeowner a gift card to a home improvement store). If you manage a large team or don’t feel confident in your knowledge of your employees, you can always let your employees choose the gift card rewards they want most.
Countless Uses for Employee Rewards
In addition to understanding the importance of building thoughtful employee rewards programs and recognizing your team members, you’ll also want to design an implementation plan.
While there are more obvious reward opportunities, like rewarding people who hit their quotas or are high performers, rewards can go even further— get creative and encourage employees to have healthy behaviors outside of work, take training and development classes and more. Given the premium on talent and trends like quiet quitting, improved and ongoing employee rewards strategies can go a long way in driving retention.
