The significance of employee appreciation and recognition in enhancing the satisfaction and motivation levels of the workforce has been well-established. However, many small and mid-sized organizations still feel that setting up an effective employee and recognition rewards system is likely to put an extra burden on them in terms of time, money and resources. Such organizations tend to ignore the fact that employee recognition programs can be developed with a minimal budget. Moreover, any investment in terms of time and resources will pay back with huge dividends through the enhanced loyalty and efficiency of employees for assured business growth and success.
The promise of frequent appreciation and rewards for their good work is what drives most employees to handle their various tasks and responsibilities with high levels of dedication and effectiveness
However, when an organization fails to establish a proper rewards and recognition program for its employees, it unwittingly sends the wrong message to its existing as well as potential employees.
They start feeling unsure about their value in the organization as well as the kind of professional growth opportunities they would likely get there. Most importantly, the lack of a pat on the back for their hard work, innovative ideas and effort create a sense of loss of interest in their work. This reduces employee engagement levels leading to a significant downfall in their productivity
Having understood the pitfalls of not having a employee rewards and recognition program, it is time to look at the five easy steps for the development of such a program:
1. Have a Clear Vision of the Program Goals
Before starting with the development of a rewards and recognition program for their employees, it is important for organizations to have a clear understanding of the reasons for setting up the program. They should be absolutely certain about the benefits they intend to gain from the program in addition to boosting the morale and productivity of their employees.
In addition, they also need to be well aware of the values and behaviors they intend to reinforce among the members of the workforce through the employee recognition program. Having a clear vision of the program goals and communicating the same to the members of the workforce will help establish a strong base for success.
2. Seek Inputs from a Cross-section of Employees
Once the objectives of the program have been defined, organizations should seek inputs from employees across different levels and departments. Their opinions and suggestions about the type of rewards and recognition to be offered, the eligibility for participation and even the frequency of offering the rewards should be understood and addressed in an appropriate manner.
This helps in establishing a sense of trust among the employees and makes them feel like an integral part of the entire process of setting up the reward system. It also lends greater credibility to the system in their eyes if their views and opinions are taken into consideration.
3. Set up a Rewards and Recognition Steering Committee
Setting up a committee for running and managing the rewards and recognition program is of utmost importance. It ensures that all the decisions are made in a fair and transparent manner with proper representation of the interests of HR, management, supervisors, and the employees themselves.
The committee can also handle the nitty-gritty of organizing regular reward functions, deciding about the best rewards to be handed out and the entire logistics and implementation of the program.
4. Establish Nomination and Selection Guidelines
Setting up proper guidelines to ensure that only the most eligible employees get nominated and selected for receiving rewards and recognition is the next important step. For this, the management of the organization needs to work closely with the committee members and the HR managers to ensure that the guidelines provide an equal opportunity for every employee to participate.
To avoid any complications, the rewards may be divided into different categories to ensure fair participation and sufficient opportunities to employees across levels within the organization.
5. Announce and Launch the Program
Finally, it is time to announce the good news to the employees and launch the program by making them aware of its objectives, eligibility criteria and selection process. It is also advisable to send a mass email detailing the various aspects of the rewards and recognition program to enable the employees to understand the same in detail.
In addition, the rewards committee should be willing to answer any queries of the workforce to improve their interest, confidence and participation in the program.
Most great employee reward and recognition systems are not established overnight but these basic steps can help them to move in the right direction towards success.
These steps may need to be modified as per the unique requirements of individual organizations to get the maximum benefits.
To stay updated on the latest HiFives blogs follow us on Twitter (@MyHiFives)