CREDITS
FORBES
By Forbes Coaches Council
If you want to keep your top employees, a little appreciation can go a long way. Employees who feel that their efforts are valued and recognized tend to be more loyal, and in today’s competitive job market, you can’t afford not to invest in employee recognition.
But what if you don’t have the spare cash to offer a raise or a bonus? Don’t worry; money isn’t the only motivator, nor is it always the most effective. There are plenty of low-cost ways to let your team know how grateful you are for their hard work. Here are 13 of them, shared by Forbes Coaches Council members.
1. Understand What’s Important To Them
Knowing what motivates your talent and team makes the significant difference in their performance and overall teamwork. By knowing what is important to them, you create a sense of appreciation, belonging and overall support. It is all about intention and meaning behind giving that special reward for a job well done. – Izabela Lundberg, Legacy Leaders Institute
2. Offer A Stretch Assignment Or Exposure Opportunity
The opportunity to learn and grow is an incredible intrinsic motivator. Reward your team member by acknowledging their strengths and finding ways for them to use them in a stretch project or assignment. If a project isn’t an option, find ways to expose them to your work as a leader or other parts of the business that will help them grow their business acumen, strategic thinking and knowledge. – Jenn Lofgren, Incito Executive & Leadership Development
3. Have Them Share Their Story
Invite the employees in an appropriate forum to share how they achieved what they achieved. Encourage them to share the behavior, attitude, values and skill set that enabled them to achieve success. This will give them an opportunity to reflect on their strengths and inspire others through stories. – Deep Bali, Recalibrate.world
4. Give Them The Afternoon Off
I have found most employees feel that being rewarded for the value of their hard work through a morning or an afternoon off actually goes a long way so they can find more balance in their life to run their errands, take care of themselves or just sleep in. It helps them to feel more refreshed while feeling rewarded and acknowledged. – Manpreet Dhillon, Veza
5. Create A ‘Kudos Board’
A board of appreciation is, in my experience, the best way to show you care about your team members, recognize successes and appreciate the strong effort. In order to set up a reward system for your hardest working team members, gamify the kudos board by tallying up kudos at the end of each quarter and giving out budget-friendly prizes to each recipient with the most notes of appreciation. – Andy Bailey, Petra Coach
6. Get All Team Members Involved
Gather your team, pair people, and ask each person to tell the other what they appreciate most about them. We like to feel valued, and what better way than to hear from others how you have positively impacted them? Additionally, ask them to share what they love best about their work. As a leader, you will create stronger team camaraderie and show appreciation for their hard work. – Alan Trivedi, MBA PCC, Trivedi Coaching & Consulting Group
7. Let Employees Pick A Perk
Promote alternative rewards that give employees a choice of a weekend vacation package, premium sports, theater tickets or even gift cards. The dollar value may not be as substantial as a bonus. But, by offering employees the option to choose a premium that may not otherwise be affordable for them, you help create a rewarding experience that contributes to their employee satisfaction. – Julianne Cenac PhD, The Leader Channel
Follow us again next week for the rest of the ways to recognise top performance when budgets are tight.
