It’s a simple question: how do you get more employees engaged with your engagement program? You’ve done all the hard work - spotting the need, planning, budgeting, and finally, launching company-wide. Congratulations! But now what?
Starting right from the start
Whether it’s cupcakes and boardroom balloons, or a simple all-staff email, how you launch and onboard your employees is critical. Employees want to know what’s in it for them (aka the rewards!), how they can earn, and more importantly… why. Make sure your launch buzz clearly communicates that the program is here to reward their participation and productivity.
Make it competitive, make it social
Performance is the most tangible metric and the easiest to link to rewards. Getting more employees engaged is as simple as connecting their specific goals and KPIs to rewards points, badges or tokens. Whatever the currency, you want to reward the behaviors that will grow your business. This structure will also make your workplace more competitive and help motivate your top performers to outdo each other.
But the most popular programs aren’t just about rewarding productivity. Every workplace is social. Birthdays, work anniversaries, monthly service awards, new business wins… there are many opportunities to reward your team, with smaller, more frequent awards. These will make your workplace happier and help retain your people. They build loyalty, stability and a communal sense of family.
Make it visible
Another popular way to keep employees mindful of your program is by making it as public and visible as possible. Many companies know that showcasing live KPI data on dashboards can be a performance motivator, especially in customer service or sales environments. Taking this lead, you can use big-screen TV dashboards throughout the office, intranet modules, app notifications, and even kitchen noticeboards to showcase points leaderboards, recent redemptions, or new reward options. The more visible you make your program, the more employees will be reminded about it every day, and adjust their behavior accordingly.
On the spot rewards for real-time recognition
Good managers know that the best reward can often be as simple as an in-the-moment thank you, or an on-the-spot handshake. It directly ties a specific, timely action to an instant reward. To amplify the power of this spot recognition, try a Serialized Card. It’s like a gift card that gifts points rather than dollars. These easily printed certificates have a unique code which an employee can unlock for points deposited into their account. The best part is that a manager can preprint these cards and carry them, in preparation for when they spot exceptional performance. They also make great party prizes.
Giving is better than getting
As children, we were told that giving is often better than receiving. Sharing is caring. The same holds true now that we’ve evolved from cradles into cubicles. The emotional rewards of generosity can far outweigh the thrill of receiving a gift. Enabling peer-to-peer points giving is a great way for your employees to recognize and appreciate peer performance. This can have a dramatic impact on team-building, spirit and company culture.
“Cadillac? No thanks, I’ll take the steak knives.”
Everyone can earn a reward. Smart engagement programs are structured to enable every employee to enjoy redeeming for a reward, even if they don’t have many points. Frequent, low-cost reward redemptions can actually help build loyalty and usage more than high-value aspirational rewards. A sun-drenched escape to Bora Bora may be on everyone’s bucket list, but it may be too far away, points-wise, to be a real motivator. Some of our most redeemed reward items are lower-cost, but have very high perceived value, like Apple Airpods, Sony Wireless Speakers and Cuisinart kitchen processors.
Creating programs that revitalize your culture
With Power2Motivate, you can build a program that’s tailored to match your company size and culture, and directly link positive behavior and achievement to tangible, attractive rewards. Contact us today to find out how we can help keep your team members focused and motivated. We can set up a demo of our highly configurable engagement platform, so you can see for yourself just how impactful it can be.