Why You Should Put Employee Rewards First

No matter the size or scale of your business, if you aren’t putting your employees first then not only are you leaving yourself at risk of HR problem arising, but you’re also putting your business at risk too. Neglected employees = an unproductive workforce.

A reward programme isn’t about implementing a pay review process each year (although this is an absolute must!) but it’s about looking at everything that sits under the reward umbrella term; benefits, recognition and compensation.

So, what can businesses put in place to make sure their employees are top of the bill?

Start with a Development Plan

In order to be able to recognise improvement and implement reward, then you need to have something to reward in the first place. Start by putting in place a development plan system for all employees.

All employees will have different goals they want to achieve and different places they want to get too, and as their employer you should be there to help facilitate those goals and make them happen. There may be specific areas you would like employees to develop, but you should also give them chance to work on anything important to them.

Set Rewards

For many businesses the reward is often in the form of a pay rise. Because if we are all honest, it’s the one thing that many of us forever want to ask our boss for but always forgo it for fear of it being awkward. Introducing a yearly or biannual pay review can help to give employees something to work towards in their individual development plans.

If employees do come to you and ask for a pay rise or to bring the reward scheme forward, then allow them to do so. It’s common to have a set period that a development plan is implemented for, in order for goals to be achieved, but if these are reached early then invite employees to openly discuss the rewards they feel they deserve.

“Most companies offer a standard annual pay increase to everyone, often in line with the cost of living. Many companies also perform annual salary reviews, assessing whether an individual should receive more than this basic increase.” Comments Peter Brown, Senior Reward Consultant at Paydata

As an employer it’s up to you to make sure your employees feel comfortable discussing their development and that you facilitate that conversation whenever required.

Introduce Benefits

Although a pay rise is often the most common form of reward that doesn’t mean that it should be the only type of reward you offer. Reward can encompass everything from offering a generous holiday allowance, complimentary lunches and flexible working hours.

We spend most of our waking moments at work, so look at what else you can do to keep employees motivated year round. Plan team days out and set aside time for learning away from the desk. It could be reading an industry related book for an hour or attending a networking event.

All of these help to contribute to employee development and corporate wellness which in turn benefit your business too.

Say Thank You

A thank you goes much further than you may think. Rewards and benefits don’t always need to be something physical or hold a monetary value. Sometimes a verbal reward can actually do greater good as it helps to boost confidence and increase employee value.

Celebrate the big and small achievements that your employees make. You’ll be surprised at how much it can motivate employees just to hear the magic words; ‘thank you’. You can’t put a value on recognition and appreciation, but it can certainly boost employee morale.

You should be continually reviewing your employee reward scheme. Even if you think you’re doing enough you could probably be doing more. Take a look at your current scheme and see where you could improve and make sure it’s driving your company forwards not backwards.