5 Creative (But Easy) Ways To Reward The Hard Work Of Your Employees

Your business wouldn’t function without the hard work and dedication of your employees. But take that hard work for granted at your peril. Not providing enough reward and recognition will leave your team feeling underappreciated. And soon, you’ll find them looking for fulfillment in the arms of your competitors.

Rewarding employees not only shows you care but also builds their pride and loyalty for your enterprise. But run-of-the-mill rewards schemes can feel impersonal and predictable. So how can you provide unique rewards for your employees without it taking up too much of your precious time?

  1. Connect Out-Of-Hours

The easiest way to make employees feel like they’re part of something bigger is to connect with them out of office hours. Not only with this help integrate them into the team, feeling like a valued cog in the system makes them feel like their job is rewarding. This encourages productivity and nurtures a positive atmosphere.

Not only that, but the way you connect with them and the team as a whole can be a reward in and of itself. The world is your oyster on this front too. You can do a beer or wine tasting. What about a summer barbeque day? Or even a company-sponsored happy hour?

These activities build relationships and boost morale, all wrapped up in a fun-filled team day.

  1. Give Fun And Creative Awards

Giving awards to staff is a simple way to reward and recognize all their hard work. You can make it a monthly thing with a staff meeting and all the fanfare. Or a yearly affair where employees can track their progress.

Whichever way you do it, keep it light and fun, so those who miss out don’t feel too disheartened. But make sure enough of a fuss is made, so the rewarded employee feels great. Consider using a company like Challenge Coins LTD to have a custom-made coin award made. This means the winner cherishes it for like, and it’s a physical, tangible reward. There are also great custom challenge coins that you can choose from.

  1. Invest In Professional Development

Nothing says thank you, like investing in your employee’s future. Think about the team member who wants to climb the ladder and learn but has no extra cash to attend courses or conferences. Build a development budget into each employee’s contract to tap into when they want to learn new skills. 

This doesn’t just benefit the employee either. You’ll benefit from their new skills as they get better at their job, and you don’t need to outsource for someone more qualified. If you build it into the contracts, then shout about it. It could help you bring in some top-notch talent when you next have a job opening. 

  1. Send A Personal Care Package

When it comes to team birthdays or anniversaries, the average company allows a bit of time off. Maybe a card if you’re lucky. Go the extra mile and send out a personal care package. It doesn’t take too much time to pull a great package together. And your employee will feel seen and well looked after. 

  1. Time

The best way to reward your employees is to give them back the thing they value the most. And that’s their time. They don’t get a huge amount of it in the year. And using it means they have to be super savvy to make sure they get the most of what little time they get. Make the time off paid, and you’re onto a big winner. 

Rewarding employees with time means they’ll work harder to get it. And feel more appreciative towards you as an employer for making it available to them. It isn’t that creative, but it will get the most positive results out of your staff.