In rewarding employees, there is the constant need to be fair.
The slightest whiff of preferential treatment and the whole thing will come crashing down around your ears. When staff members can so easily see the benefits that their peers at other companies receive, an ill-thought-out rewards scheme has the potential to backfire. How do you ensure that everyone is recognised for their hard work and that rewards are distributed fairly?
Recognise contributions, monetary or otherwise
This is especially important if you want to ensure fairness across the entire company - including staff who don’t necessarily bring in money but contribute equally to the success of the business. This could be clerical staff, or accounts or HR departments. One option is to implement a social recognition scheme. Employees are encouraged to vote for staff members who have done a great job and rewards are distributed accordingly.
Keep it transparent
Everyone assumes the grass is greener… but having a transparent rewards system ensures that all staff members are clear that they are being treated fairly. This also avoids accusations of favouritism - if employees who do the same job and get the same results get different rewards, it’s abundantly clear what’s going on. An automated platform with prearranged rewards for certain achievements avoids this.
Don’t underplay the achievements of the top sellers
When you read the next tip, you’ll check that headline again, but we are serious. The top sellers deserve a bigger reward. Without that recognition, they could well ease off the accelerator and coast.
Likewise, those lower down the sales ladder will see that there is little reward in being a top seller and you may find that all ambition is lost! Of course, you don’t want any of your staff to feel under-valued, but especially not your top performers!
Don’t forget the average performers
In a recent article about Channel Incentives tips, we made this point, and it’s worth mentioning twice as it counts across the board. It’s vital to keep the average performers happy too. Make them feel like they’re ‘almost there’. Often, these staff members are getting in bread-and-butter deals and between them, they are earning strong revenues. Of course, they shouldn’t receive the top rewards, but recognising their efforts will encourage them to take on board the top performers’ best practices and achieve more in the future.
Pay bonuses quickly
If you are using a more traditional reward bonus system or attempting to run a voucher reward scheme yourself, aim to distribute employee rewards as soon after the project/timeframe completion as possible. An incentive loses its power and perceived value if not paid promptly.
Reward teams as well as players
With so much emphasis put on individual performance, it’s easy to forget that sometimes being part of a winning team is just as rewarding. Set up teams within the salesforce, using a mixture of abilities and performance ratings. Encourage them to work together to an overall target. You’ll be surprised at the results.
To discuss how Ovation can quickly and efficiently implement an employee recognition programme to suit your requirements, contact our offices today.