Six benefits of employee reward and recognition programs

You’re proud of your team. And quite rightly so. It’s been your great pleasure to work alongside such a dedicated, talented and hardworking bunch. Every member of your team has been carefully selected, onboarded and trained to perfection in order to help you deliver operational excellence. But even the most talented team can falter. Even the most dedicated and motivated employees can become disenfranchised.

This is why employee reward and recognition programs are such an invaluable means of getting the most out of your workforce. They are inexpensive to implement and cause minimal disruption to your operations. Yet they can generate a host of benefits for businesses and their employees, improving productivity and profitability while reducing costly employee turnover.

Let’s take a look at six brilliant benefits of reward and recognition programs…

1. They help perpetuate a company culture you can be proud of

Your company culture is a huge part of your brand identity. It also has a knock-on effect on every aspect of your operations. Your company culture is the mechanism by which you fulfil the promise your mission statement makes to your customers.

Your workplace culture is not only valued by customers, it’s valued by employees. More and more employees regard the culture of their workplace as even more important than their financial compensation. After all, a great payday is poor compensation for a job that makes you miserable.

Employee recognition programs can ensure that employees feel valued both by management and their peers and show them that their accomplishments are recognised and valued.

Summarised nicely by a Sales Manager at Volvo UK, a Rippl customer, Nick Humphries says: “If you ask a salesman what motivates them, you may get the default “money” answer but actually, if you dig down a bit, then recognition for a job well done is very motivational”.

2. They help employees feel engaged and give them a sense of belonging

The UK is in the midst of a productivity crisis and it’s entirely possible that poor engagement rates are the key. A staggering 85% of employees are either not engaged at work or feel actively disengaged.

And that’s simply not a foundation on which excellence can be built.

Employee recognition schemes use manager-to-peer and peer-to-peer recognition to help employees feel that they belong with you. It can help them to feel more engaged in their work and take greater pride in it. And when your employees are engaged, your business is likely to be more profitable. In fact, research shows that higher employee engagement levels can increase profitability by 22%.

Almost 90% of business leaders regard a lack of employee engagement as one of the top three threats facing their operation. But when employees feel good about their employers and the difference that their efforts are making every day, this common pain point becomes far less of an issue.

3. They incentivise teamwork and collaboration

It goes without saying that reward and recognition programs motivate employees. But as well as motivating them to hit personal targets and achieve their own professional goals, they can also be used to bring teams and departments closer together.

Employee reward programs can be a great way to congratulate employees who smash their targets. But this can come at the expense of your team’s sense of unity and cohesion. Combining reward schemes with recognition programs can make an effective one-two punch which drives collaboration between team members.

They can leverage peer-to-peer recognition to assure employees that their contributions to the team’s accomplishments are appreciated and celebrated by all.

Amy White, a Checkout Operator for Asda explains how she finds “Asda Stars”, their Rippl recognition and reward platform, so important: “I love being able to congratulate or thank colleagues for their support, and as my department gets so busy, I barely get the chance to show my appreciation, so Asda Stars is great!”.

4. They make you more desirable to ambitious job hunters

You might not be hiring right now. You might not envisage needing to add members to your team for some time. But as your business grows, your staffing will need to grow at a commensurate rate if you’re to deliver the same quality of care that your customers expect as your operation expands.

And that means being able to get your hands on the kind of top drawer candidates who make outstanding employees. However, the priorities of job seekers are changing. There’s a new generation of bright young graduates entering the workforce who are motivated by more than money. They want to work for an employer who makes them feel valued. An employer with a strong ethical focus that’s prepared to invest long term in their workforce.

At a time when websites like GlassDoor allow people to say what they really think about their employers, prospective applicants can see businesses at their best and their worst.

An employee recognition program can be an extremely attractive benefit to the kind of top-tier candidates who can help lead your business to new heights of success. Over 65% of employees don’t feel like their efforts are recognised at work. And the candidates that you’re trying to target will certainly not want to join their ranks.

5. They improve employee retention and save you money

Employee reward and recognition programs are easy to implement in even the busiest operations. While there are many different kinds of programs available, the current generation takes the form of digital platforms, much like the social platforms your employees use in their personal lives every day.

And the cost of implementation, personalisation and training pales in comparison to the cost of replacing employees who have left because they don’t feel engaged or recognised.

The good news is that recognition programs not only help employees work harder and take more pride in the task at hand, they’re also linked to reduced employee turnover. Companies that implement employee recognition programs enjoy a 31% reduction in voluntary turnover.

Employee retention saves you money while also allowing you to provide the continuity of quality and service that your customers have come to expect from you. Employees who stay with you are more likely to grow and develop, thus helping you to reach new heights of operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

When you experience high voluntary turnover rates, however, you risk taking two steps back for every one step forward. Read about how Asda were able to reduce employee turnover to save over £2 million with their Rippl recognition and reward platform.

6. They make your workplace an enjoyable place to be

Finally, it’s easy for adversarial relationships to develop in the workplace. When the work is fast-paced and tensions run high, it can create a stressful and pressured environment. Colleagues can feel resentful of one another and relationships between employees and management can become strained.

However, implementing a culture of reward and recognition can ensure a more cohesive workforce and a more pleasant working environment. 50% of employees believe that thanks, praise and encouragement from their managers improve their relationship while building trust in their higher-ups.

A workforce that feels unified and harmonious can deliver outstanding results. Employee reward and recognition programs are a highly effective way of motivating employees and encouraging teams to pull together. Leverage them effectively and you can enjoy reduced costs, improved results and a sterling reputation.

Fail to recognise and celebrate your employees’ achievements, however, and they may leave your organisation at your expense. And if they run into the open arms of your competitors, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

If you’re thinking about implementing a recognition and reward strategy in your organisation, why not take a look at the Rippl platform? It combines incentives, recognition and reward to help organisations maximise the potential of their people. Learn more about the features here or book a demo to see Rippl in action.