When creating a reward and recognition program, it’s important that you are mindful of the needs and motivational drivers of your employees  – there is no point in trying to motivate people with rewards or incentives that are of no interest to them!

What you think is a great reward, an inspirational target or a wonderful team building opportunity, can be interpreted differently by the team members.
Creating Rewards Programs is easy, creating compelling rewards programs that work is not!

1 – Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen reward and recognition programs implemented across organisations which fall flat as no one has any idea how it works or what the big picture objectives are. The focus is all on the administration instead of the reward and no one has linked the program with the organisation’s underlying goals or values.

• Communicate the organisation goals and rationale for implementing the program
• Provide constructive feedback on progress for eligibility for the next reward
• Spread the good news – share the success to inspire others

 
2 – Create a new culture – a culture of doing the right thing
Too many employee reward and incentive programs are one dimensional and only focus on individual business components, like sales targets or cost savings. Certainly there is a need to both recognise and reward based on targets and the ability to keep motivated in a high pressure environment, but it is essential that your staff reward program recognises and rewards other types of behaviour too like  great customer service, helping others achieve their goals, team spirit and so on.
It can be worth revisiting your mission statement for a reminder of the organisation’s objectives and vision when establishing your rewards program.
3 – Go Social
No, we don’t mean you have to post on Facebook or tweet your rewards (but hey, why not?), but take a leaf out of their virtual book. Today, people are living more and more of their lives in the public eye via Facebook and other social sites. They tell of their ups and downs, their highs and their lows – they get a sense of community and being loved by how many “likes” or “shares” they get.
Your employee rewards program should become part of the culture – it should be a celebration at meetings, newsletters, conferences, department updates as well as on news boards and intranets.
You want as many “likes” as you can get so the feeling of recognition and motivation is “shared” across your organisation.
Peer to Peer recognition can be a powerful driver.
4 – Make recognition easy and frequent and the targets achievable
Recognition doesn’t always need a reward attached. Sometimes a simple ‘thank you’ is enough to make an employee feel appreciated. Give your managers simple effective tools for recognising their team – there is a tendency for the “fun” part of employee reward programs to get lost in the jungle of administration, procedure and paperwork.
The giving of praise and rewards should allow the giver, as well as the receiver, to feel great!
5 – Reward with something people actually want (not just what you like or what is easy to administrate)
Wow I am definitely going to try to exceed my sales target this month so I can get that toaster…said nobody ever!

Dealing with a multitude of age groups, demographics, pay scales, nationalities and, ultimately, personalities could mean that the rewards you offer are not appreciated and therefore not considered motivational by segments of your employees. Even if all the other elements of your employee rewards program and culture are perfect, this final step could undo all your good work and actually breed contempt.

 
Open loop staff gift cards, like eftpos gift cards, are the perfect support tool for staff reward programs, long service awards, recognition and sales staff incentives.
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