Boosting Employee Advocacy with Employee Recognition and Rewards

When it comes to employee advocacy, one of the best ways to ensure a team raves about their work to anyone and everyone they meet is to find ways to keep each employee happy, engaged, motivated, and inspired in their jobs. After all, if staff members enjoy coming to work and feel a real part of the team, they will be much more likely to boast about their workplace and generate more interest in the brand.

There are lots of different techniques for boosting morale and creating a positive company culture. One of the top ways firms should utilise though is recognition and rewards. Read on for some ways you can go about making your team feel acknowledged and valued today.

Thank People for Their Efforts

For starters, one of the simplest yet effective (and low cost) ways to recognise employees is to thank them for their efforts and the results they achieve. When you give someone a heartfelt thank you that they can tell is genuine, specific, and direct, they will know they’ve done their job well, are appreciated by the “higher ups”, and that there’s meaning in what they do every day.

There are numerous ways you can go about thanking your team, from a personal conversation or handwritten note, through to an email, phone call, or even mention at an event, in a company newsletter, or via a social media page. Also, keep in mind that it’s important to pass on any thanks that customers, suppliers, and other business people happen to give for your team’s efforts, as this can really help to lift the spirits of employees too.

No matter which option you choose, just make sure you clearly articulate how exactly the person’s contributions have led to top results, made a difference to your or others’ working life, or otherwise had an impact.

Recognise with Awards

If you’d like to recognise your staff in a more public and formal manner, consider setting up an awards program whereby you give validation to top workers in front of the whole team. You might like to arrange a specific Employee of the Month system for regular recognition, or just hand out awards at any stage during the year when you think the occasion calls for it.

You can present employees with trophies, certificates, plaques, or any other type of award you like. Something funny related to the corporate culture or brand can be a nice surprise! Just make sure you clearly note why the award is being presented, and make a nice big fuss of the worker involved.

If you really want to go the whole hog, have a celebratory office party as part of each awards ceremony. This allows teams to get together to have cake or other nibbles, a nice drink, and just generally connect and celebrate the achievements of their peers.

Give Perks and Rewards

Of course, while thanks and awards are nice, many employees also really appreciate being given special perks or rewards when they do their job well or go the extra mile. If you’re worried about how to afford these types of boosts, keep in mind that there are many affordable options to choose from. For example, when it comes to perks, you can give top staff members some bonus time off, a better parking space, or even give them a ticket to a prized industry or company event.

For low-cost gifts, consider ideas such as arranging free massages or lunches in the workplace, giving out complimentary bottles of wine, hampers, or movie vouchers; or presenting people with a gift voucher to their favourite store. You’ll find many great presents online too, whether you want to buy some holiday gifts for employees, a special birthday surprise for a valued team member, or a thank-you gift for a job well done.

No matter what the occasion though, do try to purchase a personalised present wherever possible, so that employees know you really listen when they talk about their interests and life outside of the office.

Help Employees to Grow and Develop

Lastly, for most employees, no matter their position within a firm or the industry they work in, a key priority for their career is to continually grow and develop. As such, if you find ways to help their professional development and to give them opportunities for advancement, they will be much more engaged and happy at work.

To recognise the efforts of your team members, you could, for instance, enrol them in a leadership program, give them access to a top mentor (within the company or externally), promote them, or give them additional training. You might also decide to pay for them to complete additional studies or attend important events; organise speakers to come and teach them about a particular topic, or give them extra job responsibilities which will add more gravitas to their resume.