Rewarding Staff? There Are Other Creative Ways Than Mere Money
In this guest post, Karen Gately (pictured below), a co-founder of HR Consultancy Ryan Gately, offers top tips to motivate high-performing staff that won’t break the salary budget…
Reflect for a moment on the effectiveness or your organisations approach to rewarding and recognising people. How are culture, engagement and performance impacted? Do the Leaders you support successfully influence capability and behaviour through the thanks they give and rewards they provide? Do financial and non-financial rewards inspire discretionary effort and impact upon the standards achieved by individuals and teams?
If you’re struggling to extract optimum value for your reward and recognition efforts, you’re far from alone. All too often organisations fail to leverage the full benefit of the investment they make in reward and recognition programs. At the heart of the issue are typically two key factors. A lack of effective coaching from managers and poor design or application of reward programs.
The simple reality is, when leaders actively coach their people they are more likely to be ‘tuned in’ to each individual on their team; that is how they are thinking, feeling, learning and ultimately performing. When leaders adopt a coaching approach, they are entirely more likely to communicate both constructive feedback and praise.
Incentive schemes or recognition programs typically fail due to a lack of alignment between decisions made and the outcomes needed. Take for example bonus programs that fail to reinforce cultural expectations or incentive schemes that discourage collaboration and team success. It doesn’t take long working in HR to come across, for example, the highly paid ‘technical expert’ who continues to earn large bonuses despite their poor behaviour impacting the rest of the team.
Getting reward and recognition right matters for reasons beyond spending money wisely. Of course, success should be measured by the return on your investment in bonuses and other financial rewards. What matters more, however, is the impact reward and recognition done well, can have on the performance of your business.
The bottom line is people are more likely to strive to achieve the standards required of them, and beyond, if they believe they are fairly recognised and rewarded. When people don’t feel fairly treated, however, they’re entirely unlikely to invest the full strength of their potential in getting the job done. Gallop research spanning four million employees worldwide, presents compelling evidence of the link between reward and recognition, and organisational performance. Benefits cited include improved individual productivity, increased engagement among colleagues and staff retention. Critically, higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers, better safety records and fewer accidents on the job were also reported benefits.
It’s not all about money
While financial rewards unquestionably play a role in inspiring a sense of personal value and commitment, far more important are the words of gratitude people need to hear, and acts of generosity they value.
McKinsey & Company research shows that non-financial incentives are more powerful influencers of behaviour than money. Research consistently shows in fact that when people are satisfied with their salaries, non-financial rewards are more effective than more money in building long-term employee engagement.
Get creative
Making reward and recognition programs work takes a creative approach. While of course there are strategies or initiatives that will work in many instances, far more powerful however are those tailored to your workforce. Look for opportunities to tailor rewards to each individual or team. Adding a personal touch can have a dramatic impact on the extent to which rewards are truly valued.
Keep in mind that the primary objective of rewarding and recognising people is to influence how they feel and in turn behave. To do that you need to know each person and adopt an approach that works for them. Armed with a little understanding of each individual, far more meaningful and therefore impactful rewards can be provided.
While many organisations provide standard rewards or forms of recognition, people often appreciate the effort invested and personal nature of the reward more than the value of the gift itself. Encourage leaders to think laterally about the benefits people on their team may value and look for ways these can be accommodated.
Think beyond traditional ways of rewarding and recognizing people. While bonuses may form an essential part of your reward strategy, think also for example about ways in which leaders can provide ad hoc recognition of the behaviours and outcomes needed. Tickets to a certain event for example, or a book about a topic the individual is interested in, are far more likely to be memorable than a standard reward everyone gets.
While a certificate of achievement or trophy may well be appreciated in some instances, rewards that demonstrate thoughtfulness or effort are more likely to be valued. Opportunity to attend a course or conference, time off to pursue personal interests, gift cards or vouchers for products or services the individual needs, support services that help people balance work and life are just some of the many ways in which a tailored approach can be taken.
Latest News
The Unapproved Climate Certification Allegedly Causing Mass Greenwashing
Are you left flummoxed in the canned tuna & free range eggs aisle? Just wait till this green certification gets up.
TV Ratings (22/04/2024): Fans Mock “Over The Top” Reaction To New MasterChef Judges
MasterChef returns for its 2024 season. B&T stands by putting peppercorns in Gravox & no one will be any the wiser.
Dentsu Restructure: Muddle, Harvey & Johnston Take Leadership Baton As Bass & Yurisich Exit
A large broom has swept through Dentsu's local ops this morning, taking with it some big names & the air con's cobwebs.
Industry Shares Trends Shaping The Industry This International Creators Day
B&T's asking adland creators to reveal their top trends. And it's not good news for your Jenny Kee cardigan collection.
Mable Extends HOYTS Sensory Screenings Partnership
Mable has extended its HOYTS sensory screening partnership. Vigorously defends its two-star Oppenheimer review.
Orphan Launches ‘They Need Our Help. We Need Yours’ For Children’s Cancer Institute
Anything to do with childhood cancers has B&T's 110% support. That said, we do ignore the red meat & alcohol warnings.
Smile Team Orthodontics & Keep Left Collaborate On Smile-Inducing Campaign
As parents would attest, given the cost of orthodontics you'd expect this campaign to be a lavish production indeed.
Opinion: How Video Calls Neglect Learning Diversity
Need an excuse to duck out of a video call this arvo? Show this to your boss.
DoubleVerify Achieves First-Of-Its-Kind Responsible AI Certification From TrustArc
DoubleVerify receives responsible AI certification. However, not its robotic vacuum that's been seen menacing the cat.
Smile For A Good Cause: The Social Media Campaign Giving Back To The Community
Are you known as the office Austin Powers? More for you teeth than shagability? Get snappy new fangs with this news.
Elon Musk Mocks Albo After ESafety Wins Court Injunction Against X
Albo's 2024 from hell continues - Rabbitohs in crisis, down in the polls and now feuding with world's richest man.
Real Estate Developer In Hot Water Over “Sexually Exploitative” OOH Campaign
Real estate agents again tops in the 'least trusted profession' polls, nudging used car salesmen & ad creatives.
Epsilon’s Shane Hanby: Post-Cookie Era Relies On “Teamwork” Between Brands, Marketers & Tech
This pro predicts more "teamwork" in a post-cookie era. Which spells bad news for the uncooperative or plain stubborn.
Entries For Five Decades Of Advertising Graduates Awards Close On Monday
Entries for the Five Decades of Advertising awards close Monday. And no extensions! Any bribery is open til Wednesday.
Cadbury Extends Commitment To Women’s Sport With Sweet New Wallaroos Deal
Rot your teeth, get fat and support women's sport all at the same time with this sweet new sponsorship arrangement.
Campfire X & Nando’s Partner To Acknowledge Traditional Land Owners Across Australia
Chicken chain unveils important First Nations initiative. The actual chickens more concerned with the Adani coal mine.
Lisa Ronson, Naysla Edwards & Ben Hill Join MFA Awards Signature Judging Panel
MFA Awards adds some serious clout to its judging panel. Still no confirmation Paulini will be performing on the night.
Connect Hearing ‘Sounds Good’ Platform Via Bread Agency
Every office has that one hard of hearing person that's oblivious to the fact. Ramp up their insecurities with this.
Ipsos Iris Data: Australians Prioritise Entertainment & Sports Over Serious News In March
Data shows Aussies prioritising light entertainment over hard news. And who can blame them if you've seen the hard news!
Fur Media Partners With Mad Paws To Support Advertisers
It's never good if your office smells like faeces & brine chunks in aspic. Not if you're pet-friendly agency Fur Media.
MAXIBON Drops Epic Flavour Collaboration Via SICKDOGWOLFMAN
There are few pluses to be had with global warming, except the extension of ice-cream eating season.
Sling & Stone Scrubs Up With Lush Account
Got friends at Sling & Stone? Expect the dreaded loofah and bath bomb for birthdays/Christmas this year.
SBS’s The Cook Up With Adam Liaw Produces ‘Fewer CO2 Emissions Than Industry Average’
SBS could go full vegan for Adam Liaw's seventh season and reduce its TV audience and emissions by 99 per cent.
GumGum & Playground xyz To Merge Media Portfolio, Creating “Powerhouse” Ad Suite
GumGum & Playground xyz tap into consumer mindset. B&T prefers tapping a keg, but whatever works.
All The Winners & Grinners From The TikTok Young Lions Awards Night!
Last week saw every part of the human experience: Exalted, devastated, exhausted & stuffing sausage rolls in the corner.
TV Ratings (21/4/24): Farmer Wants A Wife Wins Sunday Prime Time
Farmer Wants A Wife does make the country life seductive. Apart from the manure stench & the bleating roosters at 5am.
Australia’s Automotive Industry Shifts Gears With CTV
How much was CTV responsible for Australia's record car sales in 2023? Or those horrible oversized American utes?
Australia’s C7EVEN Communications Launches Services In Japan With New Tokyo Office
Aussie comms agency unveils its Tokyo plans. Confirms it's still getting the hang of the toilets over there.
Daniel Goldstein Promoted To Head Of PR At Example
Try as he may to surreptitiously blend in with the wall in his photo, this PR fellow still relatively easy to spot.
Marie Claire & Volvo Partner For The Planet: Nominees For The Inaugural Marie Claire Sustainability Awards Announced
Fashion bible Marie Claire unveils its Sustainability Awards. Yet still refusing to recycle 2023's maxi skirts trend.
Sefiani Unveils A Wave Of Promotions & Appointments
Life's good in PR/comms as Sefiani unveils new hires. Well, bad news for media sites obsessed with redundancy stories.
Yahoo Launches Identity Solutions For CTV
Connected TV just got a whole lot more exciting with this innovation. Bar the incessant Friends re-runs.
Infosum Launches Data Clean Room Solution With Samsung Ads Australia
Infosum & Samsung Ads launch a data clean room solution that's a lot more than a Wettex & squirt of Ajax.
Fast 10: Bread Agency’s Amaury Treguer On Its “Unrivalled” Social Commerce Focus
Bread Agency's Amaury Treguer takes B&T's Fast 10, as he reveals why he won't be sandwiched up against the opposition.
X And Elon Musk To Sue Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Over Sydney Stabbing Takedown Order
If this all wasn't traumatic enough, Elon weighs in to prove he's the world's richest man & world's biggest dickhead.
CRA Siren Award To Be Presented At B&T Awards 2024!
Often attend award nights & think "I wish this night would never end"? Well, B&T's just got that tiny bit longer.