In the last post I talked about how I typically make decisions for my company based upon the longevity of particular programs. I don’t want to choose something today - implement it into our operations, invest in it, introduce it to employees - only to find out a year from now that it’s no longer viable. I felt strongly from the beginning that an employee program would afford me what I needed now in the short term as well as what my company would need in the long term. It was something that could grow with us and be adapted to fit accordingly. In the last post I asked several questions that I used to determine if a rewards program was right for us. The following are the answers to my own questions as determined through my research…
Would I be able to offer prize incentives within my budget that would still be interesting and desirable to my employees? Could I change those prize incentives based upon my budget year to year?
I learned that the employee program was exactly what I wanted it to be in terms of goals, prize incentives, and budget. The beauty of such a program is that I can tailor it to fit our needs exactly - no matter what our needs are at the time. This means that while prize incentives may be low key to start they can easily be adjusted later on to reflect our growing business and in the meantime even the lower cost incentives are interesting and exciting enough to be well received by employees.
Would an employee program have the impact I expect on company morale, production, and even employee turnover?
I spoke with other companies that had implemented an employee program and that were really happy with the results. They found that morale greatly improved and because employees were working so hard to win prizes, increased production was the benefit. Plus, employees felt like they were being recognized appropriately for their work and happy employees are less likely to leave for another opportunity.
Would I have hands-on control of the employee recognition program; to really be able to make it our own? While the vendor that we chose has been managing the employee program we are always solidly in the loop in terms of making decisions and choosing those prize incentives that are best for us. I’m happy with the relationship.
Based on this information and the way that the employee program has already been received, I know that this is a program for life - something that will continue to grow and change with us from year to year.
Popularity: 25% [?]
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When we enter into something as a company, we do it with all guns blazing. As an owner I don’t commit to something until I am absolutely sure that it will serve our purposes for many years to come; I like building long term relationships with vendors and I appreciate a product or service that can grow with us as our company grows and technology changes around us. This was the big reason that I so much appreciated the idea of an employee program. It made sense in the here and the now and it made sense for well into the conceivable future. I could see how an employee recognition program could work with our resources and our goals at the present time and I appreciated how easily it could be scaled and manipulated to suit our purposes as we moved forward. I was happy - after all my research on the subject - to integrate incentive programs into our companywide offerings.
Making the decision about implementing an employee program was easy once I had all the facts. I based my decision on what was most important to us as a company, knowing full well that as we grow we may have different short term objectives but our core philosophies would still be intact. So here’s what I looked at when I looked at the potential of a rewards program:
Would I be able to offer prize incentives within my budget that would still be interesting and desirable to my employees? Could I change those prize incentives based upon my budget year to year?
Would an employee program have the impact I expect on company morale, production, and even employee turnover?
Would I have hands-on control of the employee recognition program; to really be able to make it our own?
This and more was answered in my research. More to come…
Popularity: 23% [?]
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In the last post I talked about how we had put an employee program into place three years ago in our company that was - at the time small but growing. We felt that by giving our employees something that was above and beyond the norm, we could inspire great things from them that were also above and beyond the norm. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the result. Employees have loved the employee recognition program since its inception and have given us great feedback over the years that let us know that we have done the right thing in making such a program available. Further, even if we didn’t have that feedback we would be ensured that the program was a success based on our low turnover rates and increased production. Our employees were thrilled to have the opportunity to work towards prize incentives based on their own merits and achievements and they were equally happy that we continued to grow the program over the years as additional funds became available. We showed that we were always committed to the program and that our success as a company translated to bigger and better prizes.
Now that we were expanding the company and opening offices around the country, we were absolutely committed to bringing our rewards program on the road. We had no doubt that a company wide employee recognition program would only fuel our success and we were happy to introduce it as a standard employee “perk” in the opening of our additional locations.
As we had expected, the rewards program was just as well-received in our other offices as it was in our headquarters. Plus, we had the benefit of already running a successful program. We could introduce the employee recognition program with authority and confidence and we will continue to do so throughout the lifetime of our company.
Popularity: 29% [?]
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The employee recognition program - or rewards program - that we put into effect just three years ago has already paid off in many ways that are expected and unexpected. We initially chose to put an employee program into place because, as a small but growing company, we were always looking for ways to approach our operations with an eye towards the unconventional. Any company could pay big salaries but that didn’t necessarily mean the employees were happy there; that they were satisfied with their careers and their ability to be recognized for their work and advance accordingly. We felt that a rewards program would give us the edge in our industry - really put the fire under our employees and show them that we were willing to go the extra mile for them just as they were willing to do the same for us.
The result was honestly so much more than I thought that it could be - even though I was confident that a rewards program would be well-received and have a positive impact on our overall production. It was well-received and it did have a positive impact on our overall production but it achieved even more than that.
Our rewards program had a huge impact on our employees and our turnover rates dropped dramatically. We heard through focus groups and conversation on the floor and between employees and management that our employees felt validated, listened to, and honored for their work. They appreciated the effort we had put into choosing the prize incentives and the fact that those prizes changed as the company had more money to spend - that our success was passed on to them through better prizes. They felt heard and valued and satisfied in their jobs and satisfied employees make for a healthy company. It was for all these reasons and more that we decided to take the show on the road by implementing a rewards program in the offices that we were opening around the country. More in the next post…
Popularity: 23% [?]
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Knowing what works when it comes to running a successful company is paramount for success going forward; and sometimes that thing that helps foster success is something that can be transformed and “tweaked” over time so that it remains relevant to the goals of the company as they inevitably change and grow. For us, one of the lynch pins of our success - past and present - has been the incentive programs that we launched five years ago. So confident are we in its ability to foster success, that we are sure that it will continue to be a large part of our company in the future as well.
An employee program came to us as an idea from one of our managers - a way to help us improve morale and production as a result. There was never enough time for us - seemingly - to do right by the employees who work so hard for us everyday. We tried to stay as competitive as possible when it came to salaries and benefits but a rewards program was something that allowed us to go above and beyond in terms of honoring the work of our employees.
An employee recognition program gives us the ability to take control of how we treat our employees and give them the power to take ownership of their own work - to work towards specific goals and have the option to choose particular prize incentives should they reach those goals.
The beauty of our employee program is that it has successfully grown with us over time - given us the ability to grow and stretch the program according to our budget and our needs and we know that when we need it in the future we will be able to use it well - in a way that is in line with our needs at the time.
Popularity: 38% [?]
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