There is so much to consider when you open a business; you have to look short term as well as long term and it often gets overwhelming to keep track of the many details. The details, however, are crucial for survival; every piece of the puzzle must be accounted for, so to speak, in order to know where you have started and where you need to go - as well as gauging your level of success along the way. When I opened my business I put many things on the back burner, so to speak. I figured there was only so much that I could handle in terms of time and finances and there were things that were going to have to wait. A rewards program, however, was not one of them; I built my employee recognition program right along with my business.

There were definitely things that I didn’t know about running a business but this much I did know: my employees were going to determine the success and long term health of my company. Anything that I did to promote a healthy morale in my workplace was going to pay off for me along the way; I wanted a company where employees enjoyed coming to work and where they felt that their ideas were met with respect and their hard work was appreciated. Incentive programs are fantastic ways to communicate with employees on another level; their work means something and does, in fact, bring them rewards over and above their salaries.

Through our employee program we established short and long term goals for employees that coordinated to particular prize incentives. We definitely started out small because our budget wasn’t big but we have grown the employee recognition program right along with the business, expanding it as we have more money to invest.

Popularity: 15% [?]

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If you have a competitive bunch in your employee pool, you know how beneficial competition can be to a company as a whole. Employees are not only working hard for their salaries, they are competing against each other for recognition, bonus, bragging rights, and whatever else; and good, friendly competition never hurt anyone. In fact, many companies large and small may find that this is just what they need to spark their own employees’ motivation. One of the best ways to do this - regardless of size or industry - is to implement an employee program that will further inspire employees to reach particular goals.

Companies that consider setting up incentive programs will find there are many benefits to their overall operation - inspiring go-getters within their organization that work exceedingly well within the context of competition and lighting a fire under other employees who see their co-workers given access to a variety great prizes.

Benefits of a rewards program include:

Employee motivation = increased production. It’s a no-brainer that when you inspire your employees to work harder the work gets done faster and often at a higher level of quality. Improved employee morale can have an enormous positive impact on your company as a whole.

Saving money on training by lowering turnover. Every time an employee leaves, it costs the company money. You have invested time, training, and sometimes equipment in bringing someone on board and when they leave you lose that investment. Employees who feel valued through an employee program are less likely to leave. Lowered turnover means more money in the company’s wallet.

Creating a positive work environment. In the end you want to establish a great work environment for your employees; a place where they feel heard and valued; a place where they are happy to go everyday. Nothing benefits your company more.

Popularity: 28% [?]

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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: 36% [?]

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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: 30% [?]

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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: 41% [?]

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When we began our rewards program we did so with complete faith in the benefits that it could provide us and we weren’t wrong. The employee recognition program that we implemented in our company was meant to inspire a higher morale among our employees and that’s exactly what it did. Our employees were given goals that we were interested in as a company and those who reached these goals were eligible for the prize incentives that we had put in place. This was a huge motivating factor for our employees - motivation beyond their salary - and it worked even better than we could have imagined. We started this employee program when our budget was relatively tight and we worked within the means that we had at the time. Now, however, that our budget is a bit more flexible we are excited to be able to expand our employee program and really take it to the next level.

The beauty of the employee recognition program was that we knew from the start that it was a living, breathing thing that could expand and contract according to what we wanted and needed at the time. We would be able to start small, expand the program when we had extra money to put towards it, and scale it back in times of financial struggle that every business inevitably encounters.

We were happy to be able to expand the employee program to include larger ticket items such as weekend trips and electronics after starting small with gift cards and jewelry. The employees - more than appreciating the bigger expense of items, appreciate our effort to change things up and continually invest in the program. They were excited and further motivated to continue doing all that they do on a daily basis to make our company as successful as it is.

Popularity: 45% [?]

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In the last post we talked about how beneficial our employee rewards program had been for us over the years. Not only had it given us many benefits in terms of how our employees responded to it, but it also was able to change and grow along with our company. We could swap incentives in and out to make it more affordable, to offer more choices when times were financially good, and essentially make whatever changes that we thought would be most appealing to our employees at the time. In the last post we talked about some of the benefits that our employee recognition program had provided us with over the years including increased employee morale and lower employee turnover. These were important things indeed for any company and they had made a big impact with ours.

Some more benefits of our employee program include:

Increased production. Happier employees mean more productive employees and especially if those employees are working to achieve particular goals that will yield potential incentives. We had seen it time and time again; salary and benefits were important but they were expected; prize incentives - like bonuses - were over and above the typical salary package and really worked to motivate employees to work their hardest on each and every project. As a result, we had seen the production of our company increase which put more money in all of our pockets.

Increased ownership of projects and job positions. In going after their own particular goals, employees took real ownership and pride in everything that they were doing. They took control, they delegated responsibilities, they stayed on track, and they had laser focus on what they were doing.

Employee recognition, for us, will always be a part of our company because it’s something that can grow and change along with us and always provide superior benefits.

Popularity: 41% [?]

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When we first set up our employee recognition program we literally had a dozen employees and the owners running the company. We were small but we were mighty and we wanted to do all the right things to make this a great place to work for a lifetime. The employee program that we chose was presented to us by an amazing management company that helped us put our prize tiers in place and manage the program on a day to day basis. They worked within our budget and really listened to us in terms of what we knew would be interesting and ultimately most motivational to our employees. It was a big success right from the start and we have continued to use a rewards program throughout the many years that we have now been in business. In fact, one of the great things about a well-orchestrated employee program is the fact that it can be changed according to needs and budget; which means that we have seen many variations of our employee recognition program over the years. No matter what we have in place, however, it has always been successful and certainly well received by those who work here.

We have found that the employee rewards program has yielded some very specific benefits for us including:

Increased employee morale. When employees are working towards something that is over and above their salary - something amazing that inspires them - they tend to work harder and to be excited about this work. We found that with a rewards program in place we are able to keep the atmosphere in the office positive and enthusiastic.

Lowered turnover. It’s a fact that when employees are happy they want to stay. The employee recognition program honors their hard work and gives them something extra to earn. Happy employees make for longer term employees.

More in the next post…

Popularity: 36% [?]

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In the last post, I talked about how our employee recognition program - such a huge part of our company - had made such a dramatic difference in our turnover rates, employee morale, and overall production. We had started the rewards program with very little money but still great incentives. We had expanded the program over the years - expanding the prize offerings based upon the growth of our budget. It had served us well - really getting our employees into the action and giving us tools that we needed to really take control of what goals we wanted to reach and the strategy we wanted to implement in order to achieve them.

Now that we had seen how well the employee recognition program had worked for our operations staff, we wanted to see how it would fly for midlevel and senior management. We figured this would be a great way to get everyone in on the fun - to offer management incentives to those who could motivate their team to achieve particular goals. We set the plan into action and watched it fly; it had spectacular results.

By definition, managers are called upon to lead their team. With very specific goals in place and the options of incentives to choose from if the goals were met, managers were able to plan accordingly, delegate jobs, and manage the projects with a clearer focus. The employees working under the managers - by extension - were also in line to receive incentive prizes if their team achieved particular goals; so they were not only working hard for their salary and for their manager, but also because they could stand to gain something for their own personal achievement. A rewards program helped people take individual ownership of a project as well as work together for the greater good of the team and the company.

Popularity: 37% [?]

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Opening a new company is a challenge in and of itself without adding one more thing into the mix; but with so much riding on our success we wanted to make sure that our employees were satisfied and productive. The result of our research into everything that we could do to motivate and inspire our employees was the decision to put an employee program into place; a comprehensive incentive program that could be managed, adjusted, and used to help increase morale and, subsequently, company production.

We knew that in order to be most successful a rewards program had to be handled and managed with care - with an eye on the budget at all times. We decided to work with a reputable company in the industry that could give us good direction in establishing an appropriate employee recognition program and could further help us to manage and adjust it along the way. The first thing that we did was to set up an employee program that would be appropriate for where we were at this moment in time; in other words, to choose incentives that were in line with our current budget. We were initially concerned that our budget - clearly limited with the recent opening of our offices - would really stymie our attempts to motivate employees. the company that we are working with, however, assured us that we could make choices that were well within our budget and still allow us to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish - to give our employees the respect and appreciation that they deserve and to continually motivate them to achieve the goals that we set forth as a company.

We’ve noticed many positive outcomes from the implementation of our rewards program; some that we expected and even some that we didn’t. More in the next post…

Popularity: 47% [?]

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