“While we have always had a quarterly performance rewards system in place, but the incentives have not resulted in increased levels of motivation, productivity, or performance over time! Where could we be going wrong?”

When it comes to motivating employees, most leaders would agree that rewards and recognition play a key role. However, the answer to our client’s question is that these two words are often used interchangeably when in reality they are two different sides of the story. Often, in an attempt to create as well as benefit from motivated teams, managers and leaders tend to focus only on tangible or monetary rewards. While there is nothing wrong with making ‘Best Employee/Team’ announcements every quarter, this system by itself can soon become quite monotonous. In addition to that, in a time where most of the workforce is working remotely, implementing such reward systems becomes far more challenging, especially if there isn’t a clear purpose in sight.

Motivating employees should not be restricted to the tried and tested formula of awarding tangible monetary incentives, it needs to be consistent, meaningful, and aligned with company values. Effective motivation is about creating a culture of recognition for employees. In order to create and benefit from motivated teams, we suggest breaking the reward and recognition system into 3 meaningful steps. Here is what they are:

Acknowledge

In the irreplaceable Maya Angelou’s words, ‘...people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Creating a culture of recognition starts by acknowledging the contributions of every employee. Leaders and managers need to start by training themselves to notice the effort employees put in. This is even more relevant today when employees are working from home, putting in their best to face and overcome unexpected technical and human barriers. Acknowledging employee effort goes beyond big achievements and focuses on everyday milestones. While acknowledgement can come in many forms - a ‘thank you’ email or a one-on-one conversation, the key is to ensure that it is prompt, specific, and relevant. This helps employees see the recognition as authentic and more meaningful.

Appreciate

A culture of recognition aims at making employees feel valued on a daily basis, and not just when they achieve business goals. Appreciating employees taps into this very human need of wanting to feel validated, therefore, positively affecting individual confidence, and company culture. Appreciation shifts this constant spotlight on positive results to positive values and mutual respect. It does not always have to come from managers, appreciation can often come from peers making it all the more genuine and impactful. This is only possible if leaders choose to create an environment where the open exchange of meaningful appreciation is encouraged and highly regarded. It is through the authentic praise of their inherent values as colleagues and individuals that leaders can create a climate of positive reinforcement and trust. 

Reward

There is more to rewards than handing out gift cards. A big reason why employees may not value their company’s rewards program is that it often appears to be hastily put together and therefore, inauthentic. No doubt, monetary rewards are effective ways of recognizing employees for their impeccable performance and significant achievements. But, it is up to leaders to help everyone keep sight of the objective behind the organization’s reward system. A well-structured rewards system demands that leaders spend time evaluating their teams’ actions, performance, goals, and achievements. It may be a periodic event but it requires planned and continuous effort on both the leaders and the employees part. On a parting note, we would urge leaders to remember that rewarding and recognizing employee effort is absolutely essential in every organization, but it does not always have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, it must, at all times, aim to be transparent, authentic, and meaningful.