Impact of Employee rewards and recognition in the workplace

  • Written Written by Sudha 20 September 2022 | 4 min read
  • Editor's Note :

    Positive impact of employee rewards and recognition programs in the workplace. Retain talent and foster a thriving work culture.

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Introduction

Rewards and Recognition

COVID-19 has forced companies to adopt 100% remote working to ensure the safety of their employees. The health and security challenges have also brought upon newer challenges of emotional well-being. Employees now deal with unexpected changes at work and personal life with added stress and anxiety.

In an ultra-competitive business climate, more organizations are looking at improvements in quality while reducing costs. A strong economy has resulted in a tight job market. So, while small businesses need to get more from their employees, their employees are looking for more out of them. Employee R&R programs are one method of motivating employees to change work habits and key behaviours to benefit a business.

Presently, the workplace is constantly evolving, and it's essential to be aware of where it's heading. Organizations are no longer hierarchical and top-down but instead collaborative and bottom-up. Baby boomers are retiring quicker than young workers can replace them, intensifying the war for top talent and putting the ball in the millennials' court. It is expected that by 2025 millennials will make up more than 50% of the workforce.

Strategic Shift in R&R

In VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) times, organizations come across various challenges in drawing and retaining employees; they struggle with employee burnout, disconnection, and low morale more than ever before. And therefore, organizations are required to articulate a solid R&R strategy's Where organizations can easily get aligned with the talent management business initiatives, organizational values, retention goals, and much more.

The pace of change will only continue to accelerate. Giving strategic importance to reward programs, learning & development, and continuous feedback to nurture talent will become a priority as that is one way of retaining the best of talent. Leaders are now emphasizing creating rewards that are delivered more continuously and taking into account an employee's contribution to his team and company as a whole. And this goes beyond work but also focuses on creating learning opportunities and helping employees grow.

Impact of rewards and recognition programs on organizations

Implementing an ongoing R&R program at the workplace can boost your employee engagement and assist with attraction and retention efforts. The R&R programs can increase productivity, raise morale, and improve retention and attraction efforts. In fact, According to a survey, 68% of HR professionals believe that these programs positively affect employee retention. Additionally, these programs have the potential to reduce absenteeism, stress, and turnover. In short, when employees feel valued by their organization, they feel more productive. Happy employees are likely to tell prospective employees that the organization is a great place to work.

Finally, R&R programs can motivate employees to continue working hard even if opportunities for advancement are unavailable and the budget doesn't allow for compensation increases. Therefore, in today's tough labor market, having a reputation as an organization that treats its employees well and rewards them for working real-hard is a crucial way to attract and retain top talent.

Key benefits

#1. Productivity

De-motivation can result in employees distancing themselves from work. But when they are praised and appreciated for their contribution, it increases their motivation and drives their focus towards achieving their goals. According to Deloitte recognition improves employee engagement and job performance. Companies that recognize their employees have 14% higher employee engagement, productivity, and performance than those without. It's a matter of the fact that engaged staff are critically more productive, working proactively and efficiently to do a better job. If efforts are likely to be rewarded and praised, then it makes sense that staff members will work harder to receive such employee recognition.

#2. Retention

A hostile work environment can prove costly for the company. For instance, if your employees are frequently putting down their papers, the costs of hiring and training new members can affect the company's bottom line. As per SHRM the average cost to hire an employee is $4,129, with around 42 days to fill a position. Identifying the contribution of your employees can be an effective measure to build the morale of your employees. A well-planned employee rewards system can help achieve better results when coupled with a well-functioning employee retention strategy.

#3. Continuous Feedbacks

Feedback is a mirror that shows our weaknesses and strengths. It helps us identify the blind spots. Most of the time, organizations are accustomed to mistakes and miss seeing them on their own. Feedback from the person we admire and trust most helps us understand the blind spots, work on them and grow personally and professionally. A survey shows 74% of employees whose managers were giving continuous coaching and employee feedback said they have an effective performance management system in place. And, they are also able to take the attrition well within their team. For instance, modern performance management software can assist organizations to initiate a focused conversation on every set goal. Employees and managers can utilize 360 feedback software to reach their specific goal, and it is the digital footprint of tribulations and trials they encounter to achieve that goal.

#4. Better Workplace culture

When people are appreciated for their efforts, it goes a long way toward making the workplace one they want. As their work gets praised, they take the company as a part of their life. It helps create a healthy and happy environment. When employees recognize a positive company culture, they are more willing to put extra effort into essential tasks. They don't just work for a paycheck but also feel happy to be associated with a healthy workplace. Now that we understand the benefits of R&R. Let's discover some modern features of the Rewards and Recognition program. Peer Recognition The R&R platform offers organizations the option to enable peer recognition to encourage an organization-wide culture of gratitude. With the option to allow points-based peer recognition, personalized ecards, simple words of encouragement, or all three, the platform makes spreading thanks simple for every member of the team.

Now that we understand the benefits of R&R. Let's discover some modern features of the Rewards and Recognition program.

Peer Recognition

The R&R platform offers organizations the option to enable peer recognition to encourage an organization-wide culture of gratitude. With the option to allow points-based peer recognition, personalized e-cards, simple words of encouragement, or all three, the platform makes spreading thanks simple for every member of the team.

Reporting & Metrics

Track adoption, redemption trends, budget utilization, point issuances, service anniversary earnings, and purchased points, and measure program success with a full suite of analytics. The Vega HRMS software provides real-time, dynamic analytics complete with standard one-click, pre-built reports and the option to request custom data reporting.

Social Recognition

Engage every employee in the celebration of behaviors and values, building a transparent and employee-led culture. Bring the potential of social media to recognize your employees. Create recognition 'buzz' across the business without the typical barriers with a dynamic, transparent recognition feed. Employees can recognize someone directly from the social intranet. Hence an auto-generated post is added on Vibe. This helps employees to showcase extraordinary achievements that underpin success and allow everyone to celebrate the minor and significant moments that make the company hum.

Budget Management

The budget feature allows admins to curate rules to automatically replenish budgets on a set date, set budget expiration dates, bulk upload budget templates, assign budget owners, and associate programs with specific budgets. With such features, organizations can easily expound budgets as per the requirements and size of the teams. Allocation of points happens automatically to recognizers on the system.

Final Thoughts

Saying "Thank You" is good etiquette, but it's not sufficient. Fortunate employee rewards platform can only run in an organization that advocates the recognition of top performers. With an employee recognition platform like- Vega HRMS Software where you can kickstart an R&R program that fosters organization's values and makes work more human. Vega HR offers an employee incentive program that employees love to use. It personalizes the recognition to match individual needs of the employee. With Vega HR, employees can earn monetary benefits points and redeem them into their favorite UPI wallets or stores. It is a robust program that results in higher employee engagement and lowers voluntary turnover and is apt for mid to large size companies.

To know more about our R&R program, get in touch today!

About Vega HR

Vega-HR is a powerful tool in the talent war, offering employee rewards, recognition, and pulse recognition. With an engaging platform, it fosters a world-class work culture, providing P2P recognition, social feedback, on-spot recognition, and monetizable incentive solutions with 3000+ coupons in various categories.

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