Beyond Money – Effective Methods for Rewarding Employees

Three RsThink money is the best way to reward your employees? Think again. Most studies show that employees don’t actually perform better for more money.

Consider the following “Three Rs” when intending to reward employees:

Result

Which accomplishments merit rewards?

  • High level of performance
  • Innovation
  • Saving time and money

For example, you want to reward an employee who went above and beyond expectations in order to reach the company’s financial results.

Recipient

What motivates employees?

Different people are motivated by different things – “different strokes for different folks”.  What works for one employee doesn’t always for another. Make sure to know your employees in order to understand what motivates them. Rewards should be thoughtfully selected.

Rewards

What kinds of rewards are effective?

While managers most often want to give their employees monetary rewards, such as merit increase and bonus, studies have shown that non-monetary rewards are actually more effective in driving loyalty and engagement.

If you are only using cash, you are missing the emotional side. Non-monetary rewards can stimulate emotions to make them more memorable and are the best drivers of positive behaviour and results.

Examples of non-monetary rewards:

  • Learning and development opportunities
  • Leadership attention
  • Flexible hours
  • Days off
  • Praise from manager

So next time you intend to reward an employee, consider the Three Rs. Tie rewards clearly to performance (Result). Use different strokes for different folks (Recipient). Make sure that you are not missing the emotional side, i.e. use non-monetary Rewards.

Joan Deeks

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