Five Outstanding Tips for Rewarding Employees

It is important that every company has a reward system that is both strategic but also carefully aligned with their goals.  Generally, companies choose to recognize employees in four areas benefits, compensation (or monetary ways), general recognition and appreciation.

However the problem is when it comes to general recognition and appreciation, many companies fall short. Creating a winning system that allows you to add a personal touch can be tough to figure out.

Recognition means that you are taking the time to acknowledge an employee in front of their peers for specific accomplishments or possibly for a specific action like landing a big client or completing a project.

However appreciation on the other hand is something that is centered on saying thank you in a manner that is not expressed in front of their peers.  Since these two areas can be the most tricky, we would love to show you five of the best ways to reward employees.

You can find a number of great gifts for each occasion that can easily become traditions in your business.  This not only can give employees something to work for but also can become a status symbol for a job well done.

Personalized Gifts

You can never go wrong with a personalized gift. A beautiful bottle of brandy, with an engraved label can clearly make a statement.  Perfect for acknowledging milestones, years on the job or even a promotion, a personalized bottle means you took the time to both recognize and acknowledge someones work or time.  You can have a specific bottle for a specific recognition, like a bottle of fine Scotch when you have been with the company for 25 years or something that you pick personally because you know it’s the employees favorite.

Celebration Gifts

If you intend to make your recognition more of a celebration then choosing a Champagne gift set is perfect.  These generally come with two glasses and an amazing bottle of bubbly.  All they have to do is chill it!  These gifts are perfect for delivery to an employees home.  Also these types of sets are perfect for recognizing the birth of a new child, a marriage, retirement or even something impressive like completing an MBA.  The important thing is that the reward is genuine and celebrates the employee.

Themed Gifts

Choosing a themed gift is one way to make a big statement.  Recognizing that an employee has gone above and beyond or is headed off for a relaxing retirement calls for something more casual. For instance a beer sampler pack can be sent with a card that states “This is so you can put up your feet and relax with a cold one” for the hard working retiree.  You could also send a sampler of brews for an employee that just got a promotion to one of your company’s international offices.  Either way themed gifts are fun, light and defiantly  all about the employees being recognized.

Gifts for a Team

Don’t forget that it is also a wonderful system to reward teams of people working on a project.  If you have an organization that regularly has projects that are headed by a project manager or director, then having a bottle of wine or champagne that is sent to celebrate the completion of a project is a great idea.  Although no one has to have a glass if they don’t want too, the team could share the bottle on the final day after the close of business.  Another option is to send the bottle and then have the project manager award it to someone who was instrumental in the projects success.  Either way it’s symbolic and rewarding.

Company Branded Bottle

You can also create company branded bottles that come engraved with your company’s name to hand out to employees or business partners.  Technically not one of your employees, a business partner is still a part of the team.  This is a great way to express appreciation and acknowledgment of the new working relationship.

The important part of a rewards and recognition program is staying consistent and timely in your reward.  Using an online ordering process can make the process more efficient. All employees like to be recognized so make sure you take the time to tell your employees how much you appreciate them and their achievements.