3 Strategies for Rewarding Strong Employees

Employee satisfaction should be a premier goal that your organization should follow. If you’re working with large sets of employees (remote and local), then you need to organize your resources in a way that you can reward them from time to time. It may not be limited to simply monetary rewards, and it can have long-term benefits if you reward them regularly.

If you’re expecting that today’s labour force will wait for their annual bonus to remain satisfied, then you’re wrong. You need to make sure that there is a positive feedback loop installed in the organization for employees to feel connected to the DNA of the organization.

This doesn’t mean that we need to keep showering them with praise. But it does mean that you need to express yourself as a leader and a manger so that your employees feel connected to the task at hand. When you think about how exactly you want to keep your employees motivated and on-task, you can create avenues of employee motivation through monetary and non-monetary rewards.  

Who doesn’t like rewards? Everybody does. When an employee feels appreciate and her work is deemed as important there is a dopamine release that’s quite rewarding. It also creates positive memories in the minds of these workers, so that they feel a constant urge to work harder and longer on projects that demand excellence. Creating the best employee base possible is an art form that few have mastered. But we can learn from the best and inculcate these processes in our own organizations.

#1 Celebrating Personal Events –

When it’s an employee’s first sale, or a closure of a big contract you need to celebrate. It’s a good idea to share in merriment together so that you can create a bigger impact on someone’s life in the future. It's good for team building and the employee feels recognized and appreciated. Along with monetary benefits, employees are also seeking community and appreciation, which is what celebration offers.

You might have noticed how everyone’s instantly happier around Christmas, even if there’s nothing different about that day than any other. It’s because there is an impending celebration that everyone’s into. The feeling of community fills our heart and souls with a deeper meaning as we bond together in celebration of a large man in a red suit. There is no substitute for that feeling of deep community, and celebrations help us in making us feel that much more connected to each other.

With so many options for employees to work in, a company must refine its corporate culture policy to include these regular celebrations. Even if it's for 5-6 people, they must be sharing in the joy that is experienced through these events. When someone receives a promotion or reaches a revenue mark, they must be rewarded and appreciated.

The added factor here is that employees can get together and talk about how they can become better at their skills. They can share insights, information and influences that may not have been so apparent in the office.

#2 Leadership, promotion and new roles –

Probably the best way to make someone feel like they’re rewarded is through a promotion. Early on, when we’re in need of guidance and hand-holding a solid promotion can put a stamp of approval on our workload. This helps in refining employee expectations as well. If the employee feels like they’re on the right path and getting the right opportunities, then they are more open to talking about their future there.

This feeling of being rewarded for efforts is a unique one, as it makes employees feel like they finally belong somewhere. A lot of the times why employees leave an organization is because of the lack of community and purpose at the place.

Companies can easily alleviate this stress/fear by defining a strong path on which employees can follow on. This also helps in the case where employees feel a sense of de-motivation and disinterest. This happens because they’re either too bogged down with work (and need employees to help out) or they’re too distracted (because where they’re physically sitting). Making sure that they receive the right training, path towards success and promotion can ensure that they’re in it for the long-run.

When employees feel like they’re becoming leaders, it can help in mapping out their true intentions in the organization. If they’re satisfied with being efficient managers, then so be it. Otherwise, if their ambitions are to become ultra-successful in shorter time spans then a promotion is a good idea to keep them rewarded.

#3 Mentorship –

This may come as a surprise, but a lot of the times employees simply seek guidance and direction. They’re not engaged in the workplace because they’re seeking a path on which to follow. When we have too many choices and options, and we don’t know whether one leads to failure or success, we become stuck and lazy. A great mentor can help us out in that.

Mentorship programs in organizations are a highly rewarding process as it combines one who has what they want, and one who wants what they have. It also inspires and fuels up an organization better so that employees feel engaged and ready to deliver.

A great mentor can have an hour-long chat and make an employee feel more motivated and rewarded than any bonus could. If they can share valuable insights and feedback that can make someone’s life better, then there is no better activity than that.

A great mentor is also someone who can understand where the employee is in their current state of profession, and what they need to do through life lessons and storytelling. Insights are key here, so mentors need to make sure that the employees are feeling rewarded through insights and not hypocrisy.

Conclusion

It takes a lot of hard work and appreciation to keep a single employee happy. But it can be made easier if they feel a sense of community, purpose and mentorship in the company structure.