This year we have many goals as a company. We have made it through some tough times, fighting our way through less than ideal economic conditions and even keeping all of our employees on staff. We feel very proud that we have not had to let anyone go especially since so many in our industry have lost their jobs. Our employees have job security with us and we have done everything in our power to make sure that they have a steady paycheck. We rely on our employees to remain viable and successful and we want them to know how much we appreciate them which is why one of the goals this year is to implement a comprehensive employee recognition program.
An employee program will allow us to recognize the work of our employees in a unique and affordable way. The way in which an employee incentives program works is this:
We identify the employee program that we want to implement and the prizes that we want to offer. This is especially important because we can put together a program that is affordable for us now and make changes down the road if our budget allows us to provide higher-end prizes.
Set up the goals that correspond with the prizes. We identify the objectives that we want to set forth for our employees and create the tier of prizes that make the most sense.
Communicate to our employees what we expect from them, what we’re looking for in terms of meeting goals, and the prizes that they are competing to win.
Implement and manage the program. Once the employees are informed about the program we can put it into place and manage the program going forward - something that is very easy to do with the company that we have chosen to work with for our employee recognition program.
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In the last post we talked about adopting an employee recognition program as a way to reach out to our employees. The economic conditions were impacting us negatively - not because we were not going to be able to make it through the crisis financially speaking - but because the economic climate in general, and our inability to provide salary increases, were hitting our employees hard. We were experiencing a major reduction in production - something that very much could impact the future of our business. Our employees were tired, worn out and sick of the economy. The light had gone out in them and their work reflected that. We needed to do something and an employee recognition program had been suggested to us as a way to reach out to employees affordably.
We chose prize incentives that would allow us to recognize hard work and specific achievements made by our employees. These prizes fit within our budget and allowed us to make headway without breaking the bank. Best of all we could revisit our rewards program again and again, adjusting it to our financial needs and switching up prizes to keep things interesting for our employees.
The rewards program changed everything for us; completely changing everything for our company. We are able to give our employees something to work towards without making it unaffordable for us and I know our employees truly appreciate the opportunity to earn something that they want.
With employee morale raised production has increased and we are steadily working towards a successful year and staying afloat through this economic time until things get better. Most of all, we want to continue into the future with these employees by our side and we want them to know that we appreciate their efforts and consider them long term team players.
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There are many challenges in business; many obstacles that business owners face in not only keeping things up and running smoothly but achieving success. Finances are always something to consider obviously and can make or break operations but so too can a variety of circumstances. Sometimes it is clear what needs to be fixed and even how it can be overcome; but sometimes the road to recovery is more subjective. Employee morale, for instance, can seriously impact business operations but it can be difficult for business owners and management to know how best to approach this dilemma. For us, we found recovery through an employee recognition program.
We are certainly not immune to the current economic conditions and they have seriously impacted our operations but not in the way that you might expect. The tightening of our belts - and the atmosphere of this economic downturn - had taken its toll on our employees and lowered morale was what was ultimately impacting our business. Production was down because employees had lost their fire; they felt like no matter what they did nothing changed and we were not able to compensate them monetarily which was making people even more upset.
We decided to try something that had been suggested to us - an employee incentives program through which we could formally recognize the efforts of our employees by rewarding them with a variety of prize incentives from which they could choose. We didn’t need to be extravagant in choosing these prizes; we could work within our budget and still provide our employees a great selection of prizes. Just making this effort could affect morale and put us in a better place with our employees; something that we desperately needed if we were going to make it through this time. What we didn’t count on was how much an employee recognition program would change everything. More in the next post…
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When we first put our employee incentives program into place I was working with very little money and still a very strong desire to help motivate employees and raise morale. It didn’t take much to understand the strong connection between employee morale and solid production. Employees who are not happy are typically not working to their full capacity and business as a whole suffers. I wanted a way that I could continually motivate employees and raise my game through the process. An environment that helps to motivate employees helps to fuel business and that was my goal in putting together a rewards program.
An employee recognition program allowed me to put particular goals in place; objectives that I thought were in keeping with our superior standards, whether in sales or safety. Those employees who reached these goals were given the opportunity to choose from among a selection of rewards - or prizes - offered through the employee recognition program. In the beginning I didn’t have a big budget for this program but that was the great thing about it; I could still show my employees that I appreciated their hard work and offer them a prize that was substantial without breaking the bank.
I can tell you that our employee incentives program was a hit from the beginning. Obviously everyone is working for a salary - but when you throw something extra into the mix, even something small, it’s often just the spark that people need to hit the ground running.
Now that my company has grown (in no small part to the hard work of my employees) I am able to grow and change our employee incentives program - offering bigger prizes that will hopefully keep our company strong and thriving well into the future. I do not regret implementing an employee program and I’m happy that I’m able to make it an even better program for my employees year after year.
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In the last post I talked about how successful incentive programs had been in our company. We had implemented our employee recognition program some time ago and it had been well-received from the start. At that time we had not been able to come out of pocket with substantial raises for our employees and morale was down across the board. We were still, however, trying to increased productivity and light a fire under our employees. Our initial employee recognition program included jewelry and smaller, less expensive electronics; but we have moved on to a higher level with our rewards program and we were happy to see that it was most definitely working. The weather at this particular time surely had a lot to do with the success of the program since several of our prizes are weekend trips in far warmer locations.
The way that the employee recognition program has worked and continues to work is like this: management identifies several goals that we would like to work towards. We have set sales goals as well as safety goals and even profitability goals. Those employees who are standouts in achieving these goals are identified as those who are eligible to choose incentives from our employee program. Obviously it’s not easy for someone to win a trip and in fact no one has done it yet. The frigid weather, however, has really amped things up in our company as all of the employees are now more motivated than ever - especially now that the holidays are over - to win a trip where they can find some peace, quiet, and warmth!
We are anxious to see how the these employee incentives work to further motivate our employees this winter and how the program will continue to evolve and inspire employees in the future.
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Like most of the country, our state is currently in the middle of an unprecedented deep freeze. We have been relatively spoiled over the last several years - enjoying rather mild winters; and the current low temperatures have been a difficult adjustment for everyone. In my company, the cold has actually worked to our advantage in helping us to increase employee morale. How? Because of the employee rewards program that we recently implemented as a way to increase our productivity and bolster employee/management relations.
The employee recognition program had been something that we had considered for some time before putting into action. We were looking for a way to increase our production; and with a team of employees who seemed to be wilting by the month that seemed to be difficult. Admittedly we had not been able to be too generous with raises over the past year but we were facing economic restrictions like everyone else. What we did do, however, was decide to move forward with an employee incentives program so that our employees had a chance to excel and subsequently receive a reward of their choosing.
Initially the rewards program that we put in place included such things as small electronics and jewelry but when we saw what a big hit it was and how effective it was in motivating employees we quickly moved to the next level. Now we have bigger things like televisions and even weekend trips. The trips - to warm destinations - are what are causing the most stir right now and causing the cold weather to be on our side.
Since we began the rewards program we have communicated the process to our employees in detail. We made them aware of the goals that we had set for them and the prizes that they would be able to receive if they reached those goals. This had been enormously successful right from the start - but especially now. More in the next post…
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I have never asked to get rich doing what I’m doing. I love my job, I love to come to work and I’m passionate about what I do. The most I have ever asked is to be recognized for my efforts; for those who I work for to see what I do day to day and to appreciate the hard work and passion I bring to the table every day. I have worked for the same company for over a decade and for most of that time I have felt truly appreciated by management. Over the last several years, however, as I have watched ownership change hands, I have felt rather ignored by management. I started to feel as though nothing I was doing was making any difference. Plus, with finances being what they have been none of us have gotten a raise in nearly two years. It was getting frustrating. Then my company put together an employee recognition program.
Basically how it works is like this…company management had a company wide meeting in which we were given the ground rules. They identified certain goals that they wanted to reach during the course of a year and showed us that if we reached the goals that they had set up that we would have the opportunity to choose a prize from our prize incentives.
This employee incentives program gave me the motivation that I needed - the spark that I was missing. We were finally given the clear definition of what management was looking for - the goals that we were all looking to achieve. I was able to re-focus my energies and work towards the goals at hand, knowing that I could have the opportunity to choose a great prize - from electronics to weekend trips. I know that this employee program has worked for me and I feel as though we are once again being recognized for our efforts.
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There’s nothing that we haven’t done (within reason) to keep our business operational and successful over the last couple of years. We have put as much money into the company as we have been able to do to keep things on track, we have minimized our staff - operating with a core group of people, we have put together a number of programs for our customers to attract them to our company, and we have worked with our employees to raise morale and keep production high. We have done all that we can to keep our company going - putting all of our resources towards making this happen. We can only work with what we have, obviously, and this has meant working within the strictest budget. In terms of motivating employees we have had our hands full. We have really called on our employees to do a lot of work - much more than they would normally be called on to do. How could we compensate them for all that they were doing without going over budget? With an employee recognition program.
The employee program that we decided to put in place helped to motivate our employees and still stayed within our budget. We chose a rewards program with prizes that were within the parameters of affordability for us - smaller prizes like jewelry and small electronics. If our employees reach particular sales goals or display behavior that goes above and beyond what they are typically called on to do they are given the option to choose from among the prize incentives.
This has been a great way to recognize our employees and to do so affordably. We also know that in years to come, as we get fully back on our feet we can even expand the employee program to include bigger - and more - prizes.
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What do you do when production in your company is at an all time low? Aside from looking at economic factors on a large scale (something we can do nothing about), you look at operations within your company. What is working and what isn’t? What changes can be made to loosen things up and get things moving? What’s clogging the system? For me it was employee morale and if I had been more on top of things I would have seen that coming. This was a bad year - a year without salary increases or bonuses; a year in which my employees went above and beyond in getting everything done when they had no help. They were worn out, strung out, and not very motivated to continue moving. Then I put together an employee incentives program.
This was just the spark my employees needed to stay on track - to stay motivated. An employee recognition program, as its name suggests, recognizes employees’ worth by allowing them to choose from among a group of set prize incentives. These are totally customizable programs that can be arranged to meet your needs and your budget - and can be changed just as easily when your needs or budget changes. I put together a small, but interesting, employee program that offered prize incentives for employees that reached particular sales goals, production goals, and safety goals. It caused a big stir when I first announced the rewards program and I could tell right away that it was going to ignite the competitive spirit in my employees. More importantly, however, the employee program was going to assure them that management was watching and was thankful for all that they had done and would continue to do. There’s not much I can do right now for my employees but this was a great way to say thank you and it made all the difference in the world.
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