Reward & Recognition

Our people should be one of our top priorities in business as they are our only genuine asset and should be respected as such. Business is very good at stating “our people are our only asset” and then treating them appallingly at times throughout their careers. We should be looking to motivate and excite our staff, engage them to achieve great things and Reward & Recognition can ignite those fires. Improving the effectiveness of any business is about treating our people with respect and providing a great environment to work in.

We should be looking to improve the performance and capabilities of all the people in our business by linking into business objectives. A healthy business encourages its people to achieve great performance and both Rewards & Recognises those achievements. This is not just about management recognising these achievements, but also peer to peer across teams, departments, divisions etc. Your people will feel connected to the business and valued, they will remain loyal and committed to strive for even greater achievements.

You can create high profile events or more informal events, but public recognition is very important within your business. It also encourages others to strive for greater performance; your people should also say “Thank You” with sincerity. We should not wait for a person to retire or leave before we appreciate their service to the business – those days have gone. Reward & Recognition must mean something and hold its value to your employees or it becomes of no value to the person or business.

There is a difference between Reward & Recognition, these are not identical twins, and each one brings benefits to the team or business:

Rewards: can be touched; are a prize; can be spent; passed from one person to another; based on achieving x; will be deserved; prudent use of resources; used to reinforce results achieved; based on outcomes and have little human dimension.

Recognition is: often invisible; more a relational exchange between people; is an experience; cannot be removed from the person; is not dependant on a fixed result; can receive it unexpectedly; an emotional event; can happen at anytime; its free and a purely human connection.

No matter how large you may grow, your people will remain your only genuine asset so make sure your employees know that fact. We are in a new age with technology and with smart phones, tablets and laptops. We have a growing number of apps to reward / recognise our people. Retaining quality people is much less expensive that recruiting replacements, so work harder to keep your people motivated to strive higher in performance. Your bottom line will improve with a result of making your people a higher priority, your number one priority, and they will reward you in return.

This is not just about a big bonus or huge salaries; this is about making employees hungry for more success and passionate to strive for more. Salaries and bonuses will not guarantee you success if your Culture and

environment is not right, inspire your team to motivate each other to achieve more. Recognition taps in to the hunger of your people to deliver the best results; it brings out hidden talents and allows people to flourish daily. Do not drown them in process, process will either motivate or suffocate, most businesses have too much process and suffocate employees.

Reward and Recognition, done correctly, will add even more value to the business than what you were originally Rewarding or Recognising. It will stimulate others to strive for more creative value, increase motivation and longevity beyond the day it was bestowed on one of your team. Do not forget to Reward and Recognise individuals and not just teams – people go the extra yard regularly but do we notice or is it now the norm or what is expected? Why is it expected? Look at your Culture, then environment and leadership. Self reflect and address it now so we can support you to support your people.

Your people are priceless, give them the status they deserve, make your business stronger, enhance your brand, create loyalty and celebrate your people.