The Five Principles of Rewarding Staff
- Award soon after the behaviour has been demonstrated / the result achieved. Praise needs to follow soon after the action – otherwise there’ll be no correlation between the action and the result.
- The reward does not always needs to be of a high dollar value – recognition in the form of something as inexpensive as a certificate or a thank you card goes a long way to make someone feel that what they did was noticed and appreciated (Recognition).
- However, if what you’re asking the participants to do is going to require significant effort, where they really have to stretch themselves, then you do need to ensure that the reward justifies the effort. There’s a balance of the ‘give’ and the ‘get’
- Don’t recognise people in secret – make it something that you celebrate and share with the whole team. When carried out regularly, public recognition of a job well done creates a great vibe in the workplace and really enhances morale.
- Don’t reward with cash – it’s seen too much like salary and gets eaten up in daily living expenses and the payment of bills. A reward is earned for increased effort and should be presented as something special. Plus, the perceived value of a tangible reward is higher than cash AND it has greater stand out or ‘trophy’ value.
Author Details
Karen Rowell is the Managing Director of Trésor Reward & Recognition Pty Ltd. Trésor is a specialist provider of Incentive and Reward & Recognition programs designed to attract, retain, motivate and inspire employees to greater levels of productivity and performance.
Karen Rowell – Managing Director
Trésor Reward & Recognition Pty Ltd
P: (03) 9004 2295