Human resources professionals understand that the right kind of employee engagement can work wonders — improving performance and decreasing turnover. Research shows happy workers are 13% more productive.
But during a tough economy, it’s important to get the most out of every tool you purchase, including an employee engagement platform. HR analysts are predicting that more organizations must optimize their investments in existing systems and integrate current tools within their technology stack.
Whether you have an employee engagement platform that you’re looking to maximize or you’re exploring all the potential ways you could use one, here are some ideas you might be missing.
READ MORE: Why a Virtual Prepaid Card Is the Best Employee Reward, Even After Returning to Office
Collaboration brings teams closer together and fosters innovation. Empowered employees work together to problem-solve, which is good for your organization, not to mention their sense of belonging. Add in a sprinkling of rewards for those cross-departmental efforts, and you’ll make them that much more meaningful.
Recognizing your best-performing employees is an engagement no-brainer. The key is to use the technology at your disposal to make those rewards as effective as possible. When your employee engagement platform can integrate with a communication tool like Microsoft Teams, it adds multiple advantages. First, it empowers managers to send rewards regularly within a program they already know and use. Secondly, it helps make the recognition even more special for recipients by delivering rewards publicly during live virtual meetings or sharing them in group channels.
Consider building an employee advocacy program that gives your organization ongoing opportunities for engagement (not to mention some free marketing). Ask your teams to share your brand’s content on their social media feeds, and use your employee engagement platform to offer rewards for their participation.
Good employees know other good employees. Most referral programs don’t do much more than exist in an online employee handbook. To build momentum, you can offer rewards for each referral and/or to the team member who submits the most each quarter.
The best way to understand and improve the employee experience overall is to ask your employees what they think. You’ll have a much higher response rate for your feedback surveys when you offer an incentive for completion. Even better for your HR team, you can use an employee engagement platform that integrates with a survey tool like SurveyMonkey. That way, they can automate the reward delivery to save time and work.
Supporting your employees’ well-being is a savvy form of engagement. Not only do such programs enhance the overall employee experience (according to 83% of those surveyed by Statista), they also help team members be as productive as possible and avoid getting sick (79% each). Sounds like a win-win! Give your wellness programs a boost with an employee engagement platform that allows you to offer rewards for fitness gear or a trip to the spa throughout the year. It’s another way of letting your employees know you want them to make time for self-care.
Growing and learning at work keeps employees motivated and engaged. Whenever an employee completes a training, course, or certification, send them rewards that recognize their commitment to their career.
Has your team had to work hard to meet a deadline with a tight turnaround? Need to motivate a team during a summer sales slump? Out of ideas to celebrate a holiday? It’s time to get creative with a trivia contest or scavenger hunt. Look at the reward selection in your employee engagement platform to get inspiration. Incentivize participation in a bake-off with gift cards for grocery stores or home meal kits. Offer rewards for sports retailers like Nike and Under Armour for the winners of a team step challenge.
Every work anniversary, promotion, wedding, or new baby is a chance to put your employee engagement platform to work. In fact, when companies commemorate life events, their remote workers are more likely to feel respected (78% vs. 58%) and appreciated (75% vs. 44%) compared with those whose employers don’t, a Workhuman survey shows.
Launching a new employee rewards program from scratch? Here are six steps to help you get started.
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
