Do you have a rewards or recognition program in place at your company? Incentives and recognition are important for many reasons, employee retention included. But why are recognition and rewards so important? What might powerful incentives look like, and how can you go about implementing an official program in your organization? Keep reading to find out more.
Why Recognition and Rewards Matter
When an employee is never recognized for their contributions, they start to feel that they’re working in a black hole; that no one pays attention to what they do; that their work isn’t appreciated. This leads directly to a decline in motivation, which causes a drop in the quality of work. Simply put, when an employee isn’t recognized, they’re not going to work as hard or as well as they would otherwise.
If the problem is bad enough, employees may decide to leave for greener pastures. In this way, retention rates within your company can be directly affected by recognition. When you don’t recognize employees, your retention rate is likely to go down. When you do, it goes up.
Types of Incentives
There are all sorts of potential incentives or ways to recognize employees. Some examples include:
- Shout-outs at company meetings or daily huddles
- Gift cards
- Cash bonuses
- Additional PTO or vacation time
- A dedicated Slack channel or email chain for recognition
Another way to recognize your employees? Simply say “thank you.” Many times, that’s all that’s needed to let employees know you appreciate what they do.
Best Practices for Implementing Recognition and Reward Programs
Whether you implement a formal recognition program with a points system, or simply make an effort to recognize employees more often verbally or online, there are some best practices you should follow.
Make recognition equal – don’t constantly recognize one person or team and leave others out. This will simply breed resentment and it won’t help with retention efforts. Second, don’t overdo it. If you recognize everyone for every little thing, it won’t be meaningful. Last but not least, take the time to measure your program’s effectiveness. At the end of one month, one quarter, one year – how are your company’s retention numbers looking? This will allow you to make tweaks and improve upon your program moving forward.
Improve Retention with Background Screening Services
Another way to improve retention is by hiring the right people. Thorough background screenings allow you to do just that. Contact the team at Metrodata Services for all of your pre- and post-employment background check needs.