Rewarding and recognising employees leads to greater workplace engagement, increased employee satisfaction and productivity, and an overall positive workplace environment. When employees are recognised and rewarded for their efforts, they feel valued and more motivated and typically stay in a workplace for longer.
Now more than ever, it’s important that leaders place greater emphasis on appreciating their employees. When companies focus on enhancing workplace incentives and rewards, employees are 63% more likely to stay at their current job, which can save a company from productivity losses and reduce costs associated with employee turnovers.
What is employee recognition?
Employee recognition is the act of showing appreciation and acknowledgment for your employees’ contributions to your company. Essentially, the goal of employee recognition is to help employees see their company values them. This helps build a sense of pride and security in employees, motivating them to continue doing a job well done.
A 2023 survey by Gallup and Workhuman found that when employee recognition hits the mark, employees are not only less likely to leave, but five times as likely to see a path to grow in the organisation.
Tactics for businesses who want to reward employees
Employee recognition can have a huge impact on the success of your business. Here, we’ll go over 10 ways to recognise employees to show them how much you appreciate their individual contribution to your organisation:
- Team outings
Every now and then your team needs a boost of morale. One of the best ways to celebrate your team and keep them engaged is to take them out! Mix up the working week by organising a team outing. This can be as simple as going out for lunch at a local restaurant, or going to the zoo for a unique team-bonding experience!
- Public acknowledgement for work well done
Your employees are human and like all humans, we love to feel appreciated! Next time your employee does something great in terms of their work, behaviour, leadership or values that support your workplace goals and culture, give them public acknowledgment. Sure, a pat on the back and a “thanks” from the boss is great, but you’ll be doing your employees a massive reinforcement by publicly acknowledging their efforts. You can do this by:
- Creating a social media post acknowledging them
- Using them in a corporate video
- Announcing their milestones in company wide meetings
- Recognising them in internal wide team communications
- Team ‘shout outs’ within department meetings
- Using your HRIS platform ‘shout out’ functionality
- Free training programs or training budgets
Some employees enjoy their job and workplace but never get to excel in their roles or career because their company doesn’t offer opportunities to further expand their skills. Only 25% of employees believe they have enough career growth opportunities at their current organisation. Employees who do a great job in their roles and responsibilities should be able to earn opportunities to upskill and advance their careers. Consider providing free training programs or discounts on courses to help support their job advancement. It’s a win, win because they will bring these new skills to their role and improve the quality of delivery.
- Financial incentives
Financial incentives will always be a great motivator for employees and can be used to demonstrate appreciation for great work. Financial incentives in the name of cash bonuses, gift cards and rewards can be given to employees who meet the highest quota each month or show hard work and achievements.
- Use Human Resources Information System (HRIS) Software
Engage your employees and highlight their accomplishments by integrating HRIS that has employee recognition benefits and recognition programs included. Software, such as Employment Hero, enables companies to recognise their employees’ efforts, qualities and strengths and reward them with messages of appreciation, discount cards, virtual trophies/awards and monetary rewards. These tools are especially handy for companies with remote or hybrid workers as they allow leaders to recognise and reward workers who are doing a great job despite being off-site.
- Paid birthday leave
Everyone deserves to be recognised on their birthday! At work, a simple birthday song or birthday cake can go a long way in boosting morale and increasing employee happiness. But why not offer paid birthday leave? Many organisations are offering employees a paid day off on their birthday. This gives employees the chance to spend quality time with their friends and families and to take a much-earned break.
- Embody a culture of positive feedback and acknowledgement
Regular feedback goes a long way in fostering a recognition culture at work. While verbal communication is one of the best ways to do this, feedback can also come in the form of feedback forms, emails or a simple “I appreciate the way you did X on X job” on your workplace communication platforms. Workplaces that can build a healthy feedback culture can enjoy more motivated employees, boosted engagement and greater trust and respect between managers and employees.
- Promote health and wellness in the workplace
Rewarding employees with health & wellness perks can help your workplace in many ways. By gifting employees with things like gym memberships, free weekly yoga classes, mental health services and healthy meal subscription services, you are improving your employees health and well-being. This in turn can help reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. An effective workplace wellness program has been shown to reduce staff turnover, increase productivity and create a positive corporate culture.
- Celebrate work anniversaries and milestones
Celebrating promotions, work anniversaries and company milestones can improve team morale while making your employees feel valued. Next time one of your workers gets a promotion or your team hits some milestone, throw an office party, take them out for lunch or celebrate with after-work drinks. Work anniversaries remind employees why they enjoy working at your company and are a great motivator for them to continue succeeding within their roles.
- Surprises
Who doesn’t love surprises? Just because you’re in a corporate environment doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t throw surprises for your employees! Workloads get heavy, days get longer and projects can become all-consuming. What better way to break up the monotony than by surprising your employees with workplace treats, office games, food truck lunches and impromptu office parties? Create your own ‘Random Act of Kindness’ reward.
Employee recognition and rewards go a long way. Managers should always make it a point to appreciate their employees on a regular basis in order to keep up morale, motivation, teamwork and productivity. Employees are a vital component of your organisation and it’s because of their hard work that your company continues to thrive. Reward them and recognise their efforts. Not only will it help to retain top talent and reduce staff turnover, but it will make you feel good to contribute to an employee’s happiness and feeling of value.
Exploring employee recognition with HRIS
A Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a cloud-based software that helps you to manage several business activities including payroll, accounting, management and HR.
Investing in HRIS software not only delivers practical HR benefits such as streamlining the recruiting and hiring process and improving business efficiency, but it can also benefit the culture of a workplace and its employees.
A full-suite HRIS platform enables connectivity between workplaces and colleagues while also making it easier to receive the recognition and awards that they deserve.
At Employment Innovations, we use and recommend Employment Hero for this. It helps you get the best out of your team by including tools for performance management, career development, employee engagement and benefits management.
If your organization already uses HRIS, you can easily integrate an employee recognition platform with it. This integration can help deliver accurate employee recognition by gathering the necessary information to acknowledge the exact skills and achievements of an employee. A HRIS can also facilitate employee performance by giving employees more opportunities to become engaged and have a better sense of appreciation for their company.
For example, HRIS software can provide:
- Payroll and e-payslip
HRIS software like Employment Hero features payroll integration that makes it easier for HR to disburse employee bonuses or salary increases. Employees may also access their payslips through the platform to ensure changes have been made.
- Virtual meeting
Most HRIS software offers integrated conferencing tools that managers can utilize to recognise employees. These include virtual team meetings, one-on-one chats and performance reviews, and even social media integration so that employees can interact with each other and add their congratulations to posts; celebrating a colleague’s achievements.
- Surveys, polls and announcements
HRIS makes employee recognition easier with built-in features including polling and announcements. These features allow employees to contribute their opinions about their company and to feel heard and considered in their company’s growth.
- Employee self-service
There is no doubt that we are living in a world where people are placing more value on self-service. From bagging our own groceries to ‘tap and pay’ apps, we value having the opportunity to do things for ourselves in real time. An HRIS self-service portal allows employees to change/update their contact details and banking details, request leave and overtime as well as view their compensation history.
Employee recognition and rewards go a long way. Managers should always make it a point to appreciate their employees regularly to keep up morale, motivation, teamwork and productivity. Employees are a vital component of your organisation and it’s because of their hard work that your company continues to thrive. Reward them and recognise their efforts. Not only will it help retain top talent and reduce staff turnover, but it will make you feel good to contribute to an employee’s happiness and value.
About Employment Innovations
Employment Innovations is one of Australia’s leading providers of employment services designed to increase productivity and ensure compliance. Its services and solutions include all the tools that every Australian small to medium sized employer needs – including workplace advice, legal services, payroll solutions, migration, human resource management and HR software.
Disclaimer
The information provided in these blog articles is general in nature and is not intended to substitute for professional advice. If you are unsure about how this information applies to your specific situation we recommend you contact Employment Innovations for advice.