Understanding the importance of employee rewards and recognition can put you steps ahead of your competitors and drive business success at a higher and more effective rate! 

Consistent employee acknowledgement is the easiest way to retain high performing employees while also attracting new talent. Personalized recognition and placing active attention towards your team members plays a huge role in the satisfaction they feel in their current position and the loyalty and support that they feel towards the company. 

This article will outline 8 ways to reward and recognize your employees, so you and your team can enjoy a healthy and successful work dynamic! 

8 Ways How To Reward Employees Who Deserve Recognition

Monetary Bonuses

This is one of the most common and straightforward reward methods that a company can use and although it will most likely satisfy your employees, you risk the danger of coming across as impersonal and raising expectations for continuous compensation. 

It’s important to understand the work environment of your company along with your employee’s personalities so you can decide whether this is a productive way to recognize them for their efforts. 

Monetary rewards are a productive way to support your team and let them know that you have their wellbeing in mind by extending an extra bonus on top of their regular salary, since you never know who could benefit from even the slightest increase in compensation. 

Gift Cards

Gift cards can be an easy and productive way to reward your team, but they will definitely require research and intentional thinking to ensure that the reward is still personalized and catered to the specific needs of the recipient. 

It’s important to give your employees a gift card that will fit into their preferences so they can make the most of their reward and remain interested in what is being offered to them. Cards to a certain store, spa or wellness center or even an experience that they can share with someone of their choosing (e.g. gift card/voucher to a movie theatre or restaurant) are great ways to implement this type of reward into your workplace. 

It’s also important to ensure that you extend adequate funds onto the gift card so they can truly make the most of it. Although you shouldn’t place pressure on yourself or the company to offer large sums on a gift card, it’s important to decide how much money is reasonable for the specific product or experience you’re offering to your team. 

Take Them Out To Dinner

A company dinner can be a productive and fulfilling experience for the entire team. Not only will your employees feel valued when their organization is taking an extra step to treat them with a luxurious dining experience, you can take this opportunity to get to know the people that play a huge part in the business. 

Although a healthy work dynamic includes collaboration within the office, it can be difficult to find the space and time to learn more about the team outside of their position within the organization. Dinner outside of office hours can help start conversations that may not occur day-to-day at work and let colleagues become familiar with each other!

You can take this opportunity to reward the entire team with a dinner all at once or this can be done one-on-one to allow for a more intimate setting and attentive conversation with a single person at a time. 

Employees will definitely feel recognized and appreciated with a dinner covered by the company and the chance to get to know the leaders of their team in a new setting!

It’s up to you to create a meaningful and thoughtful space for your people to enjoy themselves.

Pay For A Fun Adventure

Again, it’s important to understand what your employees value so you can cater a fun opportunity for them. If your people enjoy a sense of adventure and adrenaline, it would be great to fund a new experience that they may not reserve for themselves. 

This can include experiences such as bungee jumping, scuba diving and even skydiving. It could also be extended through experiences such as booking the day off for your team and planning a hike in a State Park close to you and/or renting boats or outdoor equipment for them to blow off steam with. 

Allowing your team to take a minute to unwind in nature can have amazing mental and physical benefits!

Of course, it is important to do your research, find out if this is something that would interest them and even create an open discussion for everyone to offer their opinion on how to execute this. 

Send Them Away For A Weekend

Funding a weekend away for your employees is a guaranteed way to prove your appreciation of them. 

Allow the opportunity for them to bring a plus one so they can make the most of the experience and create long lasting memories thanks to their company!

Lifestyle Benefits

Lifestyle benefits include paying for your employee’s gym membership, health insurance, or even child care.

Not only are you creating convenience for your people in their day-to-day life outside of the office, this is also a great way to attract new talent. 

Added lifestyle perks on top of the regular salary reflect the message that the company understands work life balance and is committed to enhancing their employees quality of life.

Related: Lifestyle Benefits For Employees: Ultimate Guide To Keep Your Business Competitive

Pay Expenses For The Month 

Again, this type of reward clearly communicates the company’s understanding of work life balance and the need to support employees in their everyday life, not just within the workplace.

You can take some weight off of your employee’s shoulders by covering household expenses such as electricity or hydro costs, a few weeks worth of groceries or even setting them up with an approved Internet plan for personal use. 

By giving your employees a sense of relief and room to breathe from financial pressures, they’ll be able to enhance their focus into work and use this acknowledgement as motivation to drive higher performance.

It’s important to communicate clearly about this type of reward and ensure expectations are not raised to consistently provide support if it does not fit with the flexibility of the company. 

Hire A Mobile Car Wash To Come And Wash Their Car

Hire a mobile company that washes cars and get your employee’s car washed while they are busy at work!

Walking to a freshly cleaned car can be a welcomed surprise at the end of the work day and will also boost your team’s mood after they put in their long hours in the office!‍

12 Ways To Reward Employees That Don’t Involve Spending Money

Hand Write A Letter

This is one of the simplest and most personalized ways to recognize your employees, and all you need is pen and paper! Saying “thank you” for their hard work or congratulating them on a professional milestone through a thoughtful card or letter goes a long way when connecting with your team. 

Catered letters that truly speak to the people that your employees are can be sentimental and appreciated deeply by many employees. It provides a physical symbol of their value in the company and can motivate them to keep up the effort and continue driving success. 

You could even include motivational appreciation quotes in your letter to add a special touch and let them know that they have your support. 

Say “Thank You”

A meaningful conversation about your appreciation is another impactful method of recognizing deserving employees that doesn’t require a monetary component. It can mean a lot to have someone take time out of their day and approach you for the sole purpose of sharing thanks for your hard work. 

It truly is the thought that counts and if you’re able to have a personable and genuine discussion with a member of your team about their positive contributions, will not only make them feel grateful for the leadership of the company, but it will also be a long lasting memory that they will have to think about later. 

Consistent communication is an important aspect of a team environment and simply remembering to say “thanks” will let your employees feel connected to their job. 

Give Your Employee An Extra Day Off 

A spontaneous day off for an employee is always a welcomed gesture and lets them know that you appreciate work life balance. Being able to recognize the benefits of time away from work, even for a day, will allow your employees to have more trust in their leaders and put them more at ease when dealing with work-related pressure. 

Allow them to spend a day away from the office to relax and spend time with their loved ones and it will definitely help them return to work with a clearer mind and ability to work harder than before. 

Create A Wall Of Fame

A wall of fame can be a great way to motivate and encourage employees and it’s also simple and easy to create! 

The main supplies needed are a bulletin board and a wall in a public space to present it. You can create titles such as “Employee of the month”, “Most sales made”, “Best customer service”, etc and let your employees know that you’re aware and attentive to their progress.

Leave enough space above each heading to fit a photograph, and every month, you can assess which employee excelled in each of your chosen categories and continue adjusting the board!

Create A Certificate Of Appreciation

With various free templates available to help you make this, a certificate of appreciation is also quick and easy to create. This is a great way to personalize your reward and cater it for the specific recipient. 

Appreciation certificates are meaningful as they provide a physical representation of the employee’s hard work and dedication, along with the company’s awareness of their efforts. 

You can easily give your people a sense of recognition, satisfaction and belonging through this cost-effective reward!

Give Them The Best Parking Spot For A Month

A highly convenient and appreciated reward! All it takes is finding and reserving the parking spot that may be closest to the building entrance, offers adequate shade and has easy access for your star employee to enjoy everyday they come into the office.

You can even create an “Employee of the Month” program and rotate who receives this spot depending on their performance. 

Acknowledge And Thank Them In Front Of Their Co-workers

Recognition and appreciation are two fundamental aspects within human character and it’s not a secret that everyone gains a positive boost from having their efforts acknowledged, especially in front of others.

Help your employees feel seen by giving them a shout out in front of the rest of the team and opening a door for others to also convey their appreciation for that person. 

It’s crucial that your employees feel secure in their position and there’s no better way than validating them in front of the rest of the organization and helping them be motivated to continue the hard work. 

Make Use Of A Traveling Trophy 

A traveling trophy can be purchased, or made, and is used to highlight the employees that are high performing and going above and beyond expectations. 

This is a productive way to consistently recognize and reward different members of the team each month, and allow deserving employees to showcase their efforts by presenting the trophy on their desk for a certain period. 

It’s a great reminder of their hard work and the company’s dedication to recognizing their efforts. 

Related: Should I Create An Employee Appreciation Certificate? A Complete Guide

Job Titles

Promotions and increased responsibilities are a direct result of a high performing employee’s efforts and lets them know that the company trusts them to continue creating success within the business. 

It also gives them a strong sense of importance and lets them know that their efforts can create concrete results that will improve their position and will continue amounting to greater achievements. 

Promoting them to a higher job title simply makes them feel important, too. It’s a privilege to know that you’re working your way up and that with hard work, you can prove yourself to the people that matter.  

Provide Them With Learning Opportunities

High performing employees are often always looking to expand their knowledge and learn more about the business that they’ve dedicated their career to, so taking time out of your day to mentor and teach them about the details for the position can go a long way in showing recognition.

Allow your people to spend a day with someone in a leadership role and ask questions about the company and position. 

If this is not feasible for your work dynamic, you can always fund or organize a course for them to take and broaden their experience. 

Non-Monetary Office Perks

These types of perks often work best if they offer the employee an added sense of convenience in the office. You could allow them to have greater autonomy with their work and provide flexible work hours so they can decide when to start and end their day. 

It could also be as simple as taking account of your team’s preferences and stocking their favorite beverages, snacks and lunch foods in the office so they always have something to keep them going while they work. 

You could also offer check-in/one-on-one meetings to give your employees time and space to express their needs and feedback. This will only deepen your professional relationship with employees while also giving them reassurance that the company supports their progress.

Provide Them With One-On-One Mentoring

Personalized and one-on-one mentoring can be a highly valuable tool, especially if you have new employees that are still adjusting to their position. It can drive motivation and get them excited about the company when they receive this kind of attention and support. 

What makes this a great reward is the massive learning opportunity that comes from directly shadowing someone who’s solidified in the company. It can let employees know what kind of performance to strive for and also eases them into the expectations of the job.‍

Why Is It Important To Reward And Recognize Employees?

Employee rewards and recognitions have been proven to drive higher performance and effectively motivate teams in the long run. Your people will feel secure and valued in their position and have the intrinsic incentive to work hard and consistently reach goals. 

Every company wants to avoid carrying an unmotivated team, so it’s important to make your people feel recognized and appreciated to set them and the company up for success!