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Four ways to reward your Employees

Kate Allen, Executive Chair and Marketing Director, Allen Associates

When Employees go above and beyond, the least they expect is to feel valued in return.

In a perfect world, Employers would dish out pay rises to all the deserving at every request; they would organise monthly company dinners at the most luxurious restaurants; they would plan Gatsby-esque parties that staff would talk about until the next one came around. Of course, this is completely unrealistic for most companies.

Luckily, most Employees don’t expect a song and dance at every client win or project completion. You don’t need to break the bank to make your Employees feel appreciated. In fact, there are a vast number of ways that leaders can sincerely express their gratitude to staff - but let’s start with four, for now:

Public praise

In a bid to keep their talent sweet, Employers are quick to rack up a high bill on new office decor, regular outings, or even tasty treats for the office.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a comfy chair and a bar of chocolate, but these things alone can’t drive engagement.  Ultimately, all an Employee wants is for their contribution to be recognised. This can easily be overlooked in favour of material gifts, but could actually be the most powerful act in increasing staff satisfaction.

Often, it’s the little things that drive Employee loyalty: making an effort to showcase an individual’s work in a company wide meeting, or even just sending an email to all staff celebrating the recent achievements of a member of staff.

Personal notes

While public praise is important, nothing says thank you more than a personalised, handwritten note. It may not seem like much, but this small gesture will play a powerful role in proving to your staff that you recognise their individual efforts, and you are willing to put some time in to let them know. It’s also absolutely free - just remember not to go note-crazy, save it for special occasions.

Flexible opportunities

Helping your staff to create a healthy work-life balance is a much more valuable and meaningful reward than a CineWorld voucher.  If an Employee has exceeded expectations on a particular project and has no more time sensitive tasks for the day, reward them by allowing them the rest of the day off.

Yes, it sets a precedent and no, that’s not a bad thing. People value their down-time and will usually be inspired by the goal of a half-day off or an extra day of annual leave, to work harder and produce tangible results.

Small but frequent events

When it comes to events or outings, most staff prefer little and often. That is to say, rather than working all year with no rewards eagerly anticipating one extraordinarily expensive Christmas party, Employees appreciate the little things: after-work drinks on Fridays, low-key office parties complete with a cake on birthdays, or even just regular team lunches.

Small but frequent events such as these, serve to reinforce the idea of constant gratitude.

What do you think should be done to reward Employees? We would love to hear from you, so let us know.

Over the last 20 years, we have grown as a business to become one of the leading independent Recruitment agencies in Oxfordshire, and in 2018 have opened our first London office, to service Clients in the capital.

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