When done right, your employee recognition award program drives performance, supports retention, and fosters a sense of camaraderie at work. Rewards are a great way to engage employees and let them know you appreciate their contributions.
If your program is rewarding only certain types of employees, however, it may be doing more harm than good.
At best, your employees will perceive the program as a joke. At worst, they’ll think you’re playing favorites. Either way, it could be sinking your organization’s efforts to create a positive workplace culture.
November is an ideal time to evaluate your employee recognition award program through the lens of inclusivity. Not only is the holiday rewards season just around the corner, this month is home to World Kindness Day (Nov. 13) and International Day for Tolerance (Nov. 16). What better reminder to ensure you’re approaching your rewards equitably?
READ MORE: Research Insights to Optimize Holiday Gift Cards for Employees
Now’s the time to evaluate whether you are truly showing ALL of your employees that you value their efforts. To help you look at your program with fresh eyes, here’s a checklist of what to consider.
If every department is given the same awards budget, but they have vastly different numbers of employees, it’s bound to cause a disconnect. For a team of five people, $500 may seem like a lot, but that isn’t the case for departments with 10+ employees. Make sure there’s enough to go around — your bigger teams should have bigger budgets.
Your employee recognition award program should be built with plenty of opportunities to receive rewards. While it’s easy to focus on rewarding deliverables, recognizing your corporate values in action gives you more ways to thank your hardworking employees.
For example, a customer service team member who demonstrates commitment on the job every day is just as valuable to your company as the sales rep who closes a big client deal. Encourage managers to recognize both values and performance.
READ MORE: Complement Your Performance-Based Rewards for Employees
Does your employee recognition award program recognize only one kind of employee? Do people who work directly with customers get more rewards than those who work behind the scenes? Or vice versa? Be sure to spread the rewards around.
Here are some employee categories to consider and questions to ask yourself:
Being truly inclusive may require you to expand your employee recognition award program in ways you haven’t thought of before. Adding a separate program for international employees, for example, may help you account for currency and cultural differences. (Good news: BHN Rewards can handle both domestic and international employee rewards for your organization.)
Of course, your employees are the best judge of how inclusive your employee recognition award program really is. Send all employees a survey asking them for their thoughts and suggestions to learn where you stand.
Don’t forget to reward employees for completing the survey. And be sure to mention why you are conducting it—your employees matter and you want to be sure they know that.
Want more insights to help optimize your employee recognition award program? Check out our Employee Incentives Report from NAPCO Research.
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!
