5 examples of effective employee rewards

The benefits of rewarding your employees are endless, but deciding how to reward your team for a job well done can be a little more difficult. Do you opt for a big incentive trip, or build recognition into the very core of your culture? We’re taking a look at some of the biggest ideas out there when it comes to reward and recognition, so read on to be inspired.

Rewarded with remote living

Employee engagement is often thought of as an add-on, but in some roles, the very nature of the work you’re advertising can be seen as reward in itself. Hundreds applied last year when an opportunity arose for a couple to take care of a remote Irish island, manning a café and living and working in a natural paradise. Spectacular views and free accommodation are huge rewards if you can offer them, but this highlights too how beautiful surroundings and relative freedom can draw us to even difficult and challenging roles.

Recognised for services to fruit

At Innocent, it’s clear no one takes themselves too seriously. Despite that, reward and recognition is a huge part of their culture. Each month, someone is awarded a top hat or tiara and a special treat to recognise their ‘services to fruit’. Vitally, that means their contribution is immediately recognised by everyone they pass in the office. There are rewards for long service too, which include a 3D printed model of your head mounted in the library after 15 years. And new ideas and personal passions are recognised too as each quarter, after a round of pitches, three employees are granted a £1,000 scholarship to achieve something they’ve always dreamed of. Group people and culture director, Sarah-Jane Norman, explains “One person wanted to collect all their grandparents’ recipes and publish them in a book, someone else wanted to recreate the Michael Jackson Thriller video, which was amazing – they both won as it’s something they felt passionate about.” Sounds like a great reward programme to us.

Wear experience on your sleeve

Recognising experience is a great way to encourage long tenure in any role and Groupon have a unique way of making sure long service is recognised by everyone in the company. On their first work anniversary, Groupon employees are presented with a bright green jacket as a reward and are encouraged to personalise them with work nicknames. Then, with every year that passes, another star is added to their jacket. Not only does this provide a physical reward which reflects the quirky character of the company, it creates a culture of regular, public recognition for hard work and loyalty.

Just say thank you

It doesn’t always take huge investment to deploy an effective reward and recognition strategy. Energy giant E.ON have shown this perfectly with their introduction of employee ‘thank yous’, which can be sent from managers and colleagues alike both digitally and in person. With plenty of early encouragement for everyone to adopt the new method of recognising great work, the whole company has seen great results. Motivation has increased from 61% to 69%, the number of employees who feel valued jumped from 39% to 52% and employee understanding of the company’s wider business goals increased too. Not bad for a simple thank you note.

Once in a lifetime experiences

Though something as small as saying thank you can have a big impact for your employees, there’s no question that opting for a larger reward can have an even greater influence. Adecco know this and use incentive trips to keep their sales teams motivated and smashing targets all year long. Rewarding their best achievers with a once in a lifetime trip not only celebrates the achievements of those employees, but the reward acts as encouragement for others to work hard and strive for more throughout the year. We worked with the team to create a luxurious, action-packed excursion to Abu Dhabi which, paired with a communications campaign, really ramped up excitement within Adecco and helped those overachievers to feel a real connection to the company. Read more about it right here.

No matter what your focus when it comes to reward and recognition, there is a system out there which will work for you and your business – the hugely varied examples we’ve explored here just go to show that. But rewarding your employees doesn’t always need to come from huge investment or out of the box thinking, creating an experience which aligns with your brand values and culture will always be the most effective option.

Check out our in depth report on The changing face of reward

Talk to our Reward & Recognition team today to begin crafting an employee engagement programme which suits your business. Or, if you’re not sure where to start, our Research & Insights team are on hand to create a strategic insights dossier (SID) which will help you discover key areas where your business could benefit from change. Get in touch HERE .