You’ve gotten your CEO’s buy-in and have a decent budget for your employee rewards program. Or maybe your it has been humming along just fine, but without much activity.
Either way, the trick now is to make sure your employees and management teams know they can take advantage of this important perk.
After all, employee rewards are only effective at boosting morale and keeping employees with your company if your team knows they exist and how to use them. Especially your managers, who do most of the rewarding.
The good news is that by taking a bird’s-eye view of your company’s communication channels, you can easily ensure that you’re using every available avenue to promote your employee rewards program.
Here’s a roundup of all the places and ways you can raise awareness, including permanent channels, one-time instances, and more informal methods of getting the word out.
READ MORE: Great Ways to Recognize Employees, According to Employees
The first place to make sure you’re talking about your employee rewards is anywhere you direct your employees to on a day-to-day basis. Consider dedicating an intranet portal page to your program so you can explain how it works and play up the many benefits.
Here’s where you’ll want to get into the nitty-gritty of the program, explaining the specifics of how employees can receive rewards. Include any important details managers may need to know about giving out rewards, too.
If you’re unveiling a new employee rewards program, make sure you announce it during an all-hands meeting. Depending on how often you meet, consider shining a spotlight on the employees who received recognition and give them an extra round of applause during town halls and similar gatherings as well.
Employee newsletters are ideal for sharing who’s been performing well enough to receive rewards. When they hit everyone’s inbox, they also serve as a reminder for managers to recognize their team before the next one comes out.
Whether it’s a formal part of weekly team meetings or more casually over Microsoft Teams, talking up the program can really raise awareness. Sometimes, repetition is the key to getting employees to engage.
In addition to listing medical, dental, and vacation benefits, position your employee rewards as a fun perk of working at your company. Use it as an opportunity to reinforce how much your company values its employees’ contributions. It can also help boost the quality and quantity of applicants, since 35% of survey respondents say they’d seek out a new job if the prospective employer offered better rewards and recognition, according to Blackhawk Network research.
If you have a big deadline or deliverable coming up, incentivize your employees with paper posters in office common areas, such as the kitchen or conference rooms. Call out any special reward promotions, like earning extra points for achieving certain tasks or milestones.
For remote and hybrid workers who don’t see in-office flyers, take it virtual. Shout-outs via online communication tools empower your other team members to add their kudos to amplify the impact of your employee rewards. Asking your management team to incorporate this practice into their weekly employee interactions will certainly raise awareness about the program as a whole.
If all other channels fail, employees will at least learn about the program when they receive a reward. This is your chance to offer a personalized, thoughtful message that makes your employees feel seen and heard — and cements their knowledge about what your rewards program is all about.
For more ways to boost the success of your recognition program, download our infographic with 6 Employee Rewards Trends to Watch.
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!
