Is Employee Recognition Only About Employee Perks?

Does your organization give you good employee perks like free lunches, paid maternity leaves, unlimited vacation days etc. ? We do understand that these can be really good motivators but do these perks go a long way towards keeping employees motivated and retaining them?

A personal touch, a human connection, empathy, however you want to call it, it is what motivates employees to continue working for an organization. If you do not know how to personalize employee perks, you can actually lose your really valuable employees. Here are a few tips for you to start recognizing and motivating employees in the right way!

Acknowledge

Matty worked so hard over the quarter to reach her goals. She even went beyond what is expected of her and accomplished her goals that directly contributed to the organizational success. Matty put in a lot of efforts to contribute to the organizational goals. Matty’s manager however, gave Matty a five star rating and left it at that. Do you think Matty is motivated anymore to put the same level of energy and efforts like before?

Well, the answer is no. Sometimes, it is really important for managers to acknowledge employee efforts. Though she received a five star rating from her manager, Matty might not be motivated to put the same efforts once again. It is important for her manager to acknowledge the effort she put and reward her or recognize her accomplishment. This practice motivates employees and improves their productivity.

Also read: Employee Recognition And Rewards During COVID-19

Though you always can’t publicly your employee accomplishments, it is important for you, as a manager to at least have a word with them where you can thank them, praise them or just give specific feedback on their ‘Good work’.

Find Out What Motivates Them

Understand that motivation works differently for everybody and adapt your techniques to suit your employees. Some employees like being praised publicly, some might be mortified at the very thought. As a manager, it is your job to recognize that motivation works differently for different employees.

Praise the ones who like public recognition, and quietly congratulate the ones who prefer to stay out of the spotlight. And this is just one way of customizing the way you motivate employees. For instances, some employees might appreciate a day off, as a reward for good work, while others might appreciate a small gift card or coupon.

Perks That Promote Work-life Balance

Dan was so excited when his company started offering travel stipend but his excitement didn’t last longer because he did not have time to utilize it. That sounds depressing, doesn’t it? At the end of the day, employees have life outside of work. Don’t forget that.

It is important to remember to employees have a life outside of work. A few organizations have been to recognize that employees are happier and work better when they have absorbing interests outside of work. Employees perks are of absolutely no use when employees have no way to use them or enjoy them.

Give them exciting perks and don’t forget to give them time to utilize and enjoy those perks.

Retain Them By Nurturing

Perks alone cannot keep employees motivated, especially if managers/CEO’s think that employees are dispensable. Think of your employees as a long-term investment and nurture them

When you show employees that you are willing to make a commitment to them, to help them grow as professionals and nurture, perks don’t become the most attractive thing about the job. They become the icing on the cake. At Engagedly, employees are given opportunity to enrol themselves into a learning and development program to up their skills. Moreover, employees have mentors in the same organization who help them at every step of their career progression.

Employee motivation is not for the benefit of the employee. A good employee motivation strategy also benefits the manager and the organization.

Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you be the organization that everyone wants to work for? Then request for a live demo

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