It’s clear that employees aren’t happy at work. Quiet quitting has given way to the “Great Detachment.” And companies must find a way to reverse the trend, including employee appreciation incentives.
Consider that in the first quarter of 2024, the U.S. had a ratio of 1.8 engaged employees for every actively disengaged employee. That’s compared with a ratio of 2.1 to 1 in 2023.
In addition, Gallup’s latest measure in May shows half of U.S. employees (51%) are watching for or actively seeking a new job, continuing the trend toward higher turnover risk. Younger and remote employees are especially likely to feel disconnected from their employer.
Employee appreciation incentives can play a key role in your organization’s efforts to increase employee engagement and improve plummeting employee satisfaction scores.
Here’s a roundup of seven top tips for ensuring that your organization uses employee appreciation incentives to maximize engagement.
It’s a fact. Your employees want recognition. If you don’t have the right rewards program in place—or your employees aren’t engaging with it—it’s time to make sure you are using employee appreciation incentives to their full advantage. One program may be more effective than another, and you may even need to combine multiple programs to see success across your organization.
READ THE BLOG: 5 Employee Incentive Programs That Work
Handing out employee appreciation incentives for landing a new client or meeting quarterly KPIs is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recognition. Offering rewards for streamlining a process, celebrating birthdays and holidays, and going above and beyond a role’s requirements are just some of the ways you can expand your current program to reach even more employees.
READ THE BLOG: Complement Your Performance-Based Rewards for Employees
To expand your rewards programs to fight detachment and boost engagement, you’ll need more budget. That’s why it’s important to measure the success of your employee appreciation incentives in terms of both team satisfaction and benefits to the company. Rewards can help with productivity, retention, recruitment, and sales — all metrics that greatly affect your bottom line.
READ MORE: The Impact of Reward Systems on Employee Performance in 7 Statistics
You likely already have some employee engagement tools that you have been using. However, if your team members are still feeling the Great Detachment, perhaps you can better utilize those tools to get more out of your investment and create a more positive workplace culture at the same time. There are so many ways to add employee appreciation incentives into the mix to encourage not only high performance but also good habits and communication.
READ MORE: 9 Ways to Make Your Your Employee Engagement Platform Work Harder
It’s no secret that mental health walks, mindfulness, and fitness classes make a big difference in how everyone feels, not just employees. When you use employee appreciation incentives to promote corporate wellness programs, it’s an easy lift. Kicking off or reinvigorating your program with a theme, such as a Winter Walking Challenge, for example, gives you a fun opportunity to connect and engage with employees while showing that you care.
READ MORE: How to Promote Your Wellness Program With Corporate Gift Cards
Two-way communication is an important part of making employees feel connected at work. To ensure you get honest feedback about your employee appreciation incentives, you should conduct regular surveys so you can try to understand current attitudes and note any red flags contributing to disengagement.
READ MORE: 13 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Employee Feedback Surveys
Think rewards and recognition are the same? Understanding how they differ can help you take your program to the next level. Recognition is about verbal or written praise, while a reward is a transactional gift given along with recognition or for hitting a key milestone. Both are an important part of combating the Great Detachment.
READ THE BLOG: Employee Rewards and Recognition Are Always Better Together
Want to learn more about what your team wants out of your rewards and programs? Download 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!
