What makes a good appreciation strategy?

This isn’t just about putting smiles on faces either — it makes good business sense. Appreciated employees are motivated employees, which is only a good thing. Our recent research of Australian employees saw 67% say an effective reward programme would encourage them to go above and beyond.

(Interestingly, our recent research of Australian employees showed that there are certain industries where motivation was a particular problem — why not download the report to see what they are?)

So, what are the core elements of a good appreciation strategy?

Here are a few things to consider.

Celebrate milestones of all kinds

First things first. Simply celebrating the small successes can go a long way. Our research found that a third of organisations in Australia don’t reward their staff for hard work, but this should be seen as low-hanging fruit that gets your culture of appreciation started.

It could be as simple as spending half an hour at the end of the week to call out people who’ve performed well or gone the extra mile.

You can also acknowledge other key events and milestones. Things like birthdays, anniversaries, new homes and other life events can also be easily recognised. Here at Perkbox, we even celebrate work anniversaries, by pulling together messages from the individual’s colleagues and sharing it on a greeting card via our company-wide.

Emphasise your values

Of course, performance should also be a major part of your appreciation efforts. However, make sure it’s not just the obvious performers you celebrate, such as the high-flying salesperson. The best results actually come by recognising people who live up to your values, or do things that are aligned with who you are as a company.

This benefits more than just the person being recognised. Yes, they’ll get that warm, fuzzy feeling we all love — but others will also have something to aspire towards. They’ll know exactly what behaviours you expect from them, and how highly you rate it. This makes it more likely that they’ll replicate it going forward.

Whatever your recognition tactics are — Employee of the Month awards, end of week shoutouts, annual awards — link these with your values. The more you do it, the more you’ll get buy-in for your wider company mission.

Personalise your appreciation

A little bit of thought goes a long way when it comes to recognising staff in the workplace. The days of a one-size-fits-all approach are long gone — people want to be seen as individuals.

The horror stories of the past — for example non-drinkers being given a bottle of wine — are less common, but there’s still room for improvement.

In our recent research, over half (57%) of employees who receive rewards in the workplace said they weren’t meaningful to them.

There’s two ways companies can go about this. Firstly, managers should have a good grasp of what truly motivates their teams. For some, it could be purely financial. For others it could be help with the moments that matter, such as trips to the cinema, or better work-life balance, such as extra leave or time off. As the people with their ear to the ground, managers are your best bet for getting it right.

Interestingly, there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between managers and employees in Australia. While our earlier stat showed over half of employees who received rewards felt they weren’t meaningful — 90% of the managers we talked to felt all the rewards they offered their team were actually meaningful.

A safer option might be to consider a rewards programme that gives team members the ability to choose their own incentives. This ensures that whatever they get is relevant, while also taking a bit of pressure off managers.