But implementing a rewards program should not be so hard.  It doesn’t have to be a rocket-ship that takes you to another galaxy (unless you have the budget for one).  It just need to be enough that it speaks directly to your employees on a personal level (integration into the corporate culture), easy to use (to the n-user), and effortless to put together.

If you are planning on just doing a simple, ‘thank you’ card or ‘you are awesome’ type of rewards program, with a really low budget, then you might consider starting on your own.  Writing (hand-writing - yes I said it), a few notes of appreciation doesn’t take that long really.  The reason I said hand-written?  Who does that anymore?  Exactly my point.  It will go a long way in terms of engagement that you took the time out of ‘your busy schedule’ to think about a colleague and pen some words of encouragement towards their way.

I recommend, should you have a little bigger budget, and are looking for a little more flair to your employee recognition strategies, to consult with the experts.  There is an entire incentives industry out there that do this sort of thing for a living that will work with you in bringing the experience, the technology and the best rewards to your employees.

At the end of the day, the development and ongoing operation of a rewards program, no matter how simple or sophisticated should not be hard.

Share This

Just the other day, I received in the mail, from the supermarket I go to every week (religiously) coupons for the products I most likely will buy.  You see, every time I get my groceries and swipe my card at the register, everything is being tracked through a main database.  From the brand of detergent I buy or the type of spaghetti sauce I prefer, it is all being recorded.

The good news is, that about 3 weeks later, I received an email notification containing coupons from the supermarket.  The really good news is that since they paid attention to what I bought, the coupons were valid for the groceries I would actually buy rather than off-brands of un-necessary products (I’m not in need of denture cream just quite yet).

When you keep your loyalty program fresh and relevant to the audience you are targeting, it will go a long way in setting yourself apart from the pool of thousands of others.

Share This

Proper sales incentive programs can provide an new opportunity for you as the employer, to deliver an exciting experience to your sales team that not only will engage them through meaningful rewards, but make you more money because performance levels have increased.

The right incentive programs can be used to keep your top sales managers engaged, thus preventing their performance from slipping due to dis-engagement, but also light the need fire in the belly’s of those individuals who might just need that extra motivation.

Don’t forget, that when you do launch your sales incentive programs to make a big deal about them.  Throw a party…hold a contest…host a sweepstakes.  Make sure everyone within your team is not only aware of the new program, but gets excited that once they use the program for themselves, they’ll start earning rewards that are meaningful to them.

The payoff to you as the employer?  Well, let me know how your overall sales go after you launch a couple of incentive programs.  I’ll bet that you’ll be answering with a smile.

Share This

Before putting pen to paper, try and think of the following points in designing the right employee recognition program for your organization:

Budget - what amount of money do I have available to me to spend?  This point, especially, can give you quantitative thinking points.  Is there enough money in the budget for the project?  Also, think about (on a per employee basis) you might want to spend for the next fiscal year.  Is it $20 per employee?  Lower?  Higher?  I do, however, want to bring up a point to make sure that if you are going to do an employee recognition program that the top reward is not a $5 voucher to the local fast food restaurant.  If you cannot afford a good selection of rewards for your employees to choose from, the program will actually start to work against you.

That leads me to my next point…

Types of Rewards - making sure there is a substantial mix of rewards for employees to choose from.  It’s counter-productive to try and guess what your employee might want for themselves as a reward.  Make sure that there is enough of a selection to allow for employees to choose on their own.  There are plenty of online rewards program providers that can help assist you in gathering a selection of rewards that will not only fit your budget, but be exiting and keep your workforce engaged.

Share This

A good step in the right direction to facilitating a happier work force is setting up the right employee program of recognition for everyone to participate in.  Consider consulting with some incentive industry experts to help you maximize the returns on investment so you’re just not throwing money at the wall and hoping it will stick.

Implementing an employee rewards program is not hard, really.  It just needs a bit of planning, consideration as to the environment, and a bit of a budget.

Planning - I encourage you to work alongside with an expert for this phase.  They can bring knowledge and experience to the table and share best practices from other employee programs in place from similar organizations such as yourself to maximize the program’s potential.

Environment - pay attention to whom you are intending the employee program to be for.  The answer should not be…’well, my employees, of course.’  No.  I want you to think a bit deeper into what it is about the employees that make them tick.  What is the culture within the workplace?  What motivates them?  Trust me.  Not every company will have the same answer here.  It’s important that your employee program of recognition is molded to your company’s culture and your company’s culture alone.

Budget - this is a tough one, I know.  You’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘I’m already strapped.  Where am I going to come up with the money for this?’  I’ll challenge you by saying that I guessing you stand to lose more money in employee attrition and de-motivation.  Companies within the United States experience billions of dollars of loss each year due to unproductively and employees being disengaged.

Share This

One way to stop the wheels of productivity from shifting backwards is to implement a thoughtful incentive program into the corporate culture.  Keeping your employees happy by offering rewards for doing their job will directly effect their productivity and their overall demeanor within the office.  Just look at those companies whom ‘Fortune Magazine’ lists as the ‘Best Companies To Work For’.  The majority of those companies who are listed on this list are in fact the same companies that are listed on the ‘Fortune 500′ list as well.  Coincidence?  I think not!

Go creative!  Don’t go overboard, however, and be so creative that it burns a financial hole through your budget and you P&L Statements suffer.  It’s easy to show appreciation towards your employees.  For starters, begin by allowing everyone to send thank you emails to each other congratulating someone on a job well done.  You can add in an incentive by rewarding the employee with the most amount of ‘peer kudos’ with a gift.  It doesn’t have to be anything lavish, but it shows the employee that you care about their well-being and value their talents.

Employee incentive programs have been directly linked to an upswing in happiness.  And since we all know that happy employees are more productive, why wouldn’t you start extending a few ‘thank you’d’ in the office once in a while?  I would start right now.

Share This

Everyone is mobile now, using their laptops, tablets, and smart phones, that they don’t want to be bothered by any other type of medium at this point.  With everything whirling around on blogs, websites, and social media, it’s important to design an interactive loyalty program online for your consumers, and fast.

For those who already use the power of the Internet as a channel for your customers to buy your products (i.e. e-commerce catalog), then you’re a little further ahead than most.  Since every facet of your customers is already being tracked and stored electronically (i.e. who your customers are and what their buying habits are), the only piece that’s left is implementing an online loyalty program that has the capability to transpose the buying habits into actual reward points.

For those, however, that do not have a e-catalog presence (i.e. brick and mortar), don’t fret, there are plenty of applications and benefits of launching online loyalty programs just as much.

For example, there is a welding company within the midwestern states that recently launched their own loyalty programs for their customers.  Each time a customer bought a product of this particular company, they were invited to go to an online loyalty program portal and register their information, and include a claim code (which came on the inside of the packaging) and a proof of purchase.  Once the customer submits the form, they get an instant reward.  It could be anything from a rebate (cash) or something more tangible (i.e. merchandise).

Whatever form your loyalty program takes, the one thing to take away here is to do it online, and as quickly as possible.  I can guarantee that your direct competitors are thinking the same things that you are.

Share This

Their new loyalty program offers patrons both who stay at their hotel or gamble in their casino, opportunities to earn one-of-a-kind experiences.  Since Hard Rock is known as one of the premier entertainment venues in the country, they are using what they have to their advantage through an existing captive audience.

Hard Rock has also implemented a tiered type of format including ‘General Admission’, Entourage’, and ‘Platinum Access’.  Depending on a patron’s performance within the casino, or loyalty through booking hotel rooms, they will be placed in each respective level.

Rewards with the ‘Backstage Pass’ loyalty program include a variety of amenities including preference hotel guest rates, presage tickets to concerts held at the Casino, VIP access into the premier nightclub, plus much more.

What Hard Rock is doing so well above their competitors, is they know their audience and listing to the preferences of their patrons.  Hard Rock has a steady hold in the Las Vegas market in the 35 and under age bracket and know that this segment of individuals loves being treated well and given ‘rockstar’ status.  Hard Rock is definitely seeing the benefits of launching their new loyalty program geared towards VIP experiences.

Share This

Don’t forget, however, there is a factor within your organization that should require as much attention as tomorrow’s strategy - it’s employee engagement and morale.  To boost employees’ ‘happiness’ in the organization, consider implementing a rewards program.  This is a great way to show your hard working employees that they do matter, and that their performance and commitment to the organization are appreciated.

So, as a smart executive, you’re probably sitting back in your chair thinking, ’so what?’  Do the ends really justify the means?  Of course they do!

Decreased Turnover - It costs money to hire and train new talent.  Losing those employees and having to train additional staff just winds up costing more and can seriously decrease productivity in the meantime. An employee program can be one of the ways that companies can show their appreciation for their employees and employee satisfaction is bound to increase as a result – thus decreasing turnover.

Clearly Communicates Goals - Goal setting is a also significant part of running a successful business.  With a rewards program, you can define your goals for your employees and offer incentives for reaching those goals.

What I want to reiterate, however, is that while rewards programs cost money, the fact of the matter is that it is critical to consider and not to avoid.  I promise you, a dis-engaged and unhappy workforce (in the long term) will end up costing you more money than what it would’ve cost to put the right incentives together in the first place.

Share This

Here are just a few areas within employee incentives you should have covered:

Appropriate Salary For The Talent Hired - this, above all others, is one point that you cannot ignore.  Your employees are smart enough to realize what talents they bring to the table and how much they’re worth.  A good way to turn off a new hire is to offer them a salary that deeply undercuts what the going rate is for the same position elsewhere.  While tightening belts is the mantra for the past few years in weathering the storm of this recession, under-paying your employees will get you in trouble 100% of the time.  Find other ways to save.

Benefits - you’ve got to offer adequate benefits to cover both the employee and their families.  People who put in 40 hours a week or even more expect to be able to care for their families properly. If benefits are not offered or they are mediocre at best, improving this area can help with turnover.

Culture - yes, being in business is to make money and making money is serious business.  Don’t forget, however, to have fun along the way.  When was the last time you heard someone say, “I want to work for that company because they’re staunch, and always frown when on the job.”  The more fun you have at the office, so too will your employees.  Just remember, the vast majority of today’s Fortune 100 Companies are also on the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For list as well.

Rewards - employees enjoy being recognized and rewarded for their performance.  To make sure this happens, an employee incentives program can make a big difference. This will enable employers to not only say thank you, but also show their appreciation.

While reducing attrition is mission critical, thank a number of things many companies can improve upon.  From basic pay and benefits to offering employee incentives, they can all combine to keep the best workers in place.

Share This