Last year, a large manufacturing company in the heartland of America implemented a new employee recognition and rewards program.  Two years in the making, there seem to be a slight struggle in the beginning to top executives as to the cost, risk, and return that a rewards program would really bring the company overall.  ”It’s going to be too expensive!”, one executive claimed.  ”We could put a small budget towards a rewards program, but we’ll have to pull the capital from another resource”, another exclaimed.  And a third argued, “what I can promise you, if the rest of you trust me, is that you will see huge returns from this rewards program in how our employees view us as leaders, our company, and themselves because they feel appreciated and valued.”  See, the third executive, while going out on their own limb, is right.  Yes, as more companies are tightening their belts and bracing for more economic challenges in the near future, it’s easy to loose sight of spending more money, especially on your employees.  But when you see through all the clutter and the weeds, you’ll find that the engagement of your employees and the critical role a proper rewards program plays in that is far greater than any number on a piece of paper.

Last week, the executives at this particular manufacturing company got back together to review the results of how the employee rewards program did in the first year of operation, and the results they found were astonishing.

In a company-wide survey conducted by the Human Resources employee development manager, over three-quarters of the entire workforce population responded positively to the statement, “I feel more motivated to do my work”.

In looking at the numbers, sales teams throughout the entire organization had either met or exceeded their targets 96% in each month during 2011.  In 2010, sales managers were pushing for their reps to hit 85%.  What was the difference?  Sales reps had incentives to shoot for - achievable goals with tangible rewards.

But perhaps one of the most meaningful returns the executives discovered, that the company experienced 15% less employees leaving Y-o-Y.  The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of employees will leave a company of their own free will because they did not feel engaged or appreciated by their former employer.

Use the lessons the top executives from above learned, the returns in implementing an employee recognition and rewards program far outweighed any costs involved in setting it up or operating in the first place.

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Trust me, everyone wants to be rewarded for positive behavior.  But did you know that there is a direct correlation between the time of the positive behavior and when they received the award.  The probability of the participant doing the same behavior again is directly related to the quickness of receiving the reward.

Consumers, for example, who sign up for a rewards program with their favorite super market do not want to have to wait a year to earn enough points for a baseball hat.  Even more-so, consumers also don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars in the department store to receive just a keychain.

Consumer insights and market research firm, Mintel conducted a survey in 2010 of customer behavior and current loyalty trends.  Almost 1/2 (47%) of those consumers surveyed indicated that the faster the gratification, the more likely they would participate in that rewards program.

If this 21st Century has taught us anything as of yet, it’s that everything comes at consumers at such a fast pace.  Those company’s that cannot keep up with the current trends, innovation, and applications will sure to be left in the dust.

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We all know how this works: it’s the holiday season, your employees have worked their tails off all year to make the numbers, and there’s a lot of stress.  Then there comes the office holiday party which usually involves ‘open bar’ which leads to ‘employees letting loose’ and then human resources ‘fielding issues’ for the next 3 weeks.  What if I were to tell you that, perhaps, the office holiday party might not be the answer at all.  What if what your employees are looking for, is a little more personal…perhaps, an employee rewards program.

According to a Harris poll, of 2,574 US workers surveyed, only 25% responded they really wanted the office party.  That means that 75%, yes 75% of respondents indicated they would like to see their employers use the money for something other than a crazy (in some cases career limiting) office party - rather on employee rewards.

Rusty Rueff, author of the book “Talent Force” commented, “Until we see the impacts of the Great Recession further recede, when it comes to what employees want it starts with cash and other financial perks to make sure that ends can be met over the holidays.”

That statement cannot be any closer to the truth.  Employees don’t want to see their employer spending tons of cash of lavish parties with seemingly endless amounts of adult beverages.  Listen to your employees closely to find out what they truly want.  Changes are that 3 out of every 4 employees will say they want to be recognized and rewarded instead.

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So maybe your organization might not have 10,000+ employees on the books, but rather less than 250.  No worries as implementing an employee rewards program is just as important as all the others.

There are plenty of rewards program ideas out there that you can incorporate into your corporate culture even in time for the upcoming holidays.

Consider setting up a points structure of prizes for your employees to strive towards.  This will engage your workforce to keep performing at their maximum in order to be constantly rewarded.

Perhaps have your managers walk around and observe what their employees are doing from a day-to-day basis.  Empower your managers to reward employees for exemplary work behaviors with a gift card or an award certificate.

Allow those employees who are recognized for their good work practices the ability to choose how they would like to be rewarded themselves.  It’s far from us to decide what gift they would want.

When employees feel appreciated, they are more likely to perform and want to stay.

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The City of Memphis has just taken an out-of-the-box strategy of tackling the ever growing problem of poverty within their community - by setting up a rewards program.

This particular rewards program is not your typical scenario where you have customers buy things in your store, those purchases get them points, they use those points to redeem for items on an online catalog, it’s just in a slightly different looking form.  The founding principle, however, still exists - to motive a group of individuals, offering rewards as an incentive greatly increases participation and behavior change.

Mayor AC Wharton, Jr and the entire City of Memphis administration has just kicked off an effort to reduce the level of poverty in the city by “10 percent over the next 10 years at the rate of 1 percent a year.”  The question is then, how are they expecting to accomplish this seemingly lofty task?

The project is a three-year, $12 million, initiative which will offer rewards for families in need for completing tasks, like going for a medical check up or academic performance.  Rewards will be in the form of cash assistance or food stamps.

“Too many Memphians see no path forward and no way up and out of crippling, multi-generational property”, Mayor Wharton said.  ”The ripple effect on crime, education and housing values are evident everywhere.”

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It seems now that EVERYBODY is offering their own type of rewards program to either retain their existing loyalists and entice new customers.  The key is, however, making your rewards program stand out from the crowd.

By its fundamental roots, a rewards program should reflect the very audience you are trying to motivate and change behavior.  Here are a few concepts to keep in mind:

1.  Listen to your audience - find out what they want or what would motivate them?  How would they see themselves using the rewards program?

2.  Make your rewards program is accessible - if your audience can’t easily participate in your program, then what are you doing?  Going online, for example, allows your audience to come to you, anytime, anywhere.

3.  Make your benefit offerings exiting - when considering what type of rewards to offer to your audience, think of it this way…if you were throwing a party from your friends, what would you like them to bring?  Would you rather they bring over a fruit cake or better, a bottle of wine?  Keep in mind that the perception of how you value your target audience is pretty transparent.  They’ll see if you value you them as much as a key chain or much more.

4.  Let them choose - in addition with offering a exciting array of benefits in your rewards program, it also important to let the participant choose for themselves.

Keeping these pointers in mind, implementing the right rewards program is an excellent way to motivate your audience and let them know you appreciate their loyalty and will keep them coming back for more.

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Before implementing any type of employee rewards program into your company’s culture, you need to first consider a few important factors.

Just as investing in asset management, technology upgrades, corporate security, product development, and marketing are all important areas of running a successful business, so too is the investment in creating and fostering the right corporate culture which motivates your employees.  Without a solid corporate culture, which engages your employees, may critically cripple your goals as a company.

Among the most valuable benefits to implementing employee recognition programs into your corporate culture include:
-  Drive employee engagement
-  Decrease attrition
-  Strengthen manager-to-employee relationships
-  Improved peer morale
-  Empower employees to choose their own reward
-  Reinforces existing corporate culture and company values
-  Encourages goal setting and rewards achievements

Establishing an employee recognition program cannot only improve employee engagement and retention, but foster innovation, which will lend itself to improving the bottom line.

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The days of the proverbial plaque on the wall saying, “Sales Employee of the Month” is over.  For a sales incentive program to be motivating, companies must recognize and reward their top-performers, empowering the recipient to choose their reward.

It’s not ‘all about the Benjamins’ any longer.  Cash alone isn’t enough to motivate people.  If you want to really motivate employees for exceptional job performance, remember that not everyone is looking for money. Consider giving them an experience they won’t forget, even if it’s just for one day.

Rewarding your sales force with cash doesn’t have the same impact of sales force engagement in the way that non-cash awards do.  When a sales employee receives cash, it just goes into their bank account, and they forget quickly why the reward was given in the first place.  Rather, if they were given a tangible reward, for example an HD television, every time they turn on that television or have friends over for that big game, they’ll remember why they received the television in the first place – it’s a ‘trophy’.  The most important thing to remember is that the reward leaves a lasting impression on the recipient and motivates them to continue to perform.

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In today’s world, the companies who are staying ahead of the curve are moving a greater amount of resources and budget to bolstering the engagement of their employees through innovative rewards program solutions.    Properly designed employee rewards programs wrapped around existing business objectives can serve as a useful tool in inspiring your employees.

Recognize Your Employees - showing appreciation for employees who excel in their performance or stand out in the crowd can yield dramatic returns.  When the appropriate recognition is extended, such as direct from a manager, the employees feel the value they bring to the table, while inspiring those around the employee to perform at their best as well.

Offer The Right Reward - who are we to determine what is best to give someone who performs at their best as a reward.  Make sure you give them the option to choose for themselves.  Perhaps give them something to work for.  For example, perhaps a particular employee would like to get a certain handbag they have been eying in the department store for quite some time.  Each time they achieve their goals in the office, reward them points.  The employee is more likely to repeat the positive behavior to accumulate more points to eventually redeem for that handbag.

The key to retaining your valuable employees is in showing proper appreciation.  When employees feel valued, they are more likely to outperform even themselves.

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We all get it…every company is just working as hard as they can to save money.  One strategy that has been getting bigger press recently seems to be in the department of customer rewards and loyalty programs.  Just 10 years ago, it seemed as if a customer could take their 20,000 air miles points and fly from New York over to Hawaii.  It seems now that 20,000 air miles won’t even get your bag it fly for free (antidotally - of course).

There seems to be a lot more work on the side of customers (and $$ spent) to earn any type of reward what-so-ever.  Some hotels, even are upping the number of reward points needed for a complimentary night’s stay by as much as 22 percent from last year.

It’s important for those companies who are considering to implement a loyalty program into their consumer strategies to avoid making the entire program so confusing and expensive to the end user, that they are turned off by the entire program and leave.

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