Employee recognition is an important part of a successful engagement strategy. Unfortunately, a lot of industry leaders are still struggling on effectively implementing rewards. By understanding the things that your team truly values, you will be able to align the rewards that you provide. They do not necessarily have to be costly. Creativity is the fundamental aspect in developing the ideal set of low-cost rewards.

Low-Cost Ways To Show Your Employees That You Appreciate Them

According to a study, only 49% of the employees feel that they are appreciated in their workplace. This is due to the fact that 87% of the programs related to recognition is based on tenure and not on the employee’s performance. It seems that the benefits of reward and recognition are often overlooked. Even on the off chance that the company is on a tight budget, it is important for you reward your employees for their work. Here are some low-cost ways to reward your employees.

Opportunities

In most cases, your employee is looking for an opportunity related to their career to keep them motivated. Take advantage of this and offer them a career advancement opportunity. You may send them as the company representative for an industry conference. You may also provide them with a mentoring opportunity or invite them to panel discussions. These are some of the most effective low-cost rewards but are a great way of showing your employees how much you value them by offering them new opportunities.

Communication

A simple way is to communicate with your employees regularly. You may be suprised that something so small, actually means so much to your employees and can defintely create a lasting impression. A simple “Good morning” or “How have you been?” allows your employees to spark meaningful conversations with you, making them feel known by you, and not invisible.

Great ommunication is also essential between employees too. Having friends in the office increases employee morale, which will in turn increase loyalty to the company. Arrange monthly team socials to push your team to get to know each other out of the office too.

Flexibility In Their Schedule

Providing your workers with a flexible schedule is an important way to show them that you appreciate their efforts. You need to understand that most of your employees are trying to find a work-life balance and there are many ways to how you can offer flexibility:

1. Allow your workers the option to work from home at least once a week on days that best suit them.
2. Offer flexible start and finish times to fit around employee needs outside of work.
3. Encourage employes to take hour long lunch breaks away from their desk, by offering incentives such as free lunch.
4. Suggest condensed schedules, rather than a five-day week. A condensed schedule allows employees to work the same amount of hours over a shorter amount of time e.g. 4 days, allowing an extra day off.
5. Enable them to have their birthday off, without it being taken out of their annual holiday allowance.

Praise

Another great low-cost reward for the hard work of your employee comes in the form of praise. The most important thing to remember when providing recognition is the positive work environment that you are developing. This will stimulate the interest and motivation of your employee. It doesn’t matter if it is a low-cost reward. It only requires creativity, communication and the ability to effectively express your gratitude to show that you appreciate their great contribution to the company:

1. You may provide them with a discount code, voucher or gift card at their favourite online store, bookstore, restuarant or coffee shop. Let your employee choose the reward that they want when they have done something noteworthy or positive.
2. Leaving a sticky note with a word of thanks to your employee can definitely create a lasting impression. It is a powerful and meaningful method that can increase the loyalty of your employee and can increase the employee retention.
3. Create a noticeboard wall of fame, it will literally cost nothing to write down and acknowledge the great things your employees do for the whole team to see. Make it quirky and fun!

However, before you even get to the stage of rewarding your employees you need to have the best employees to reward! Using our Job Description Library, Job Advertising Packages, and How To Hire Guide, will ensure you are sourcing the best talent valuable to your company and more importantly…talent worthwhile of rewarding!