Employee Rewards – A Simple Thank You

By Lisa Cieslica
Sr. Human Resources Manager, National PEO

Companies struggle with ways to keep the workforce motivated and productive.  Properly rewarding employees is a fine line between a gloomy workplace and overkill.  The struggle comes when employers search for the best way to reward an employee.  Pay, Benefits, Perks, just to name a few of the options kicked around by managers when working to determine this.  Well, here’s some insight to help.  Did you know that in the majority of surveys given by HR Managers to employees asking what was most important to them, the number one spot was ‘Recognition’.  For your information, pay usually ranks #4 behind benefits. 

In the days of old, people worked in industries that identified them as ‘workers’.  The corporate setting constructed hierarchies that most often offered no real chance for advancement or opportunity for individual achievement.  This fostered an environment of drone workers that did their best each and every day and were rewarded with a retirement or pension at the end of a 25-year tenure.  Nowadays, employees demand more.  Companies stay competitive by hiring creative and talented workers that, excuse the overused phrase, “think outside the box.”   Rewarding these employees requires a bit more thought. 

During a recent open forum meeting with the employees of http://www.nationalpeo.com/, a Phoenix human resources outsourcing firm, they were asked, what type of reward kept them motivated.  One employee responded, ‘give me greater challenges’.  The employee wanted more opportunity to deliver results.  Another employee responded, ‘a little extra time off each year would be nice’.  This was one of our fastest producers who often found herself with down time and wanted to spend more time with her child.  The one that stood out the most was a soft spoken employee who rarely spoke up at open forum meetings.  Her response was ‘a simple thank you would be nice’. 

Ultimately the trick was just listening. Hearing what energizes each employee in their own way usually provides the answer to complex questions like ‘how do I reward my team’.  But in any case, ‘a simple thank you’ will do.

If you have questions or would like more information about the topics discussed in this article, please contact our HR Department by clicking here. Please be sure to reference the title of the article in your inquiry.

This article was sponsored by National PEO, LLC. National PEO is a leading provider of PEO services to hundreds of companies all over the US. Let us handle the burden of Payroll Services, Benefits Administration, Worker's Comp, and Human Resources for your company. Contact us today to request a quote!

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