Measuring beyond metrics: The emotional impact of employee rewards and recognition
When it comes to measuring the success of your business’ employee rewards and benefits, it’s important to track traditional metrics such as the engagement rate of your platform and value of rewards delivered amongst other key numbers. You want to know whether your people are using and enjoying their rewards and benefits, after all!
But the wonderful thing about employee benefits and rewards is that they can genuinely lift people up, boost their wellbeing and help them flourish in life. That positive, uplifting feeling people get from being rewarded or recognised is something we call the benefit of the benefit. It’s not always tangible, but it’s certainly just as important!
And the research tells us this too. Gen Z and millennial employees, in particular, are motivated and engaged by the deeper, emotionally significant elements of work, with over 85% stating that a sense of purpose contributes to their overall job satisfaction and wellbeing.
So, when it comes to measuring the success of your reward and recognition scheme, you need to understand the emotional impact it has and identify whether it’s genuinely boosting your team and contributing to their overall sense of fulfilment at work. To help you do that, we’re going to explore this topic in more detail and explain why the benefit of the benefit matters, especially when it comes to employee rewards and recognition. Let’s dive in, shall we?
THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF REWARD AND RECOGNITION
Employee recognition is about more than just saying “thanks”. Just like rewards are more than just a pat on the back for a job well done. Rewards and recognition at work have the power to genuinely benefit individuals by giving them real, emotionally significant boosts that contribute to how they feel about working at your business. Not only does employee recognition boost people in the moment, but it also helps build a stronger connection between employees and their employer, drives productivity, improves wellbeing and so much more!
Tools that facilitate regular employee appreciation like peer-to-peer recognition, milestone awards or personalised rewards, have a real, emotional impact on individuals, such as:
- Providing moments of connection between colleagues
- Boosting individual’s confidence and self-worth (at work and beyond)
- Uniting teams and fostering collaboration
- Providing a sense of individual and shared purpose
- Celebrating and embracing individuality
- Reinforcing positive behaviours and company values
- Enhancing individuals’ wellbeing
- Boosting people’s mindset and morale
The powerful short- and long-term emotional impact of employee rewards and recognition explains why, together, they form a crucial part of any business’ employee engagement strategy. But the power is in the process of doing it. Let’s not treat employee recognition as a tick-box exercise, let’s think about making meaningful workplace culture shifts to make appreciation part of every day!
WHY THE BENEFIT OF THE BENEFIT MATTERS
Our own research shows that there’s a very real recognition gap. Despite so many businesses now understanding the value of recognition in the workplace, over half of employees frequently feel unrecognised for their achievements. Is this down to the tools not being used effectively? Or is this because the true measures of success aren’t being considered?
As we mentioned earlier, the success of a reward and recognition scheme is not just about hitting KPIs. Yes, the metrics are important – there’s no denying that – but they don’t show the full picture in terms of the impact. You could have a great scheme in place that your employees are accessing regularly, but if it’s not leaving them with a lasting feeling of happiness and fulfilment, would you still consider it a success?
This is exactly why the benefit of the benefit matters. When you focus on what your reward and recognition scheme does for your people and how it makes them feel, you’ll ensure it has an emotionally significant impact and actually makes a difference to employee retention, motivation and engagement.
So, how can you shift your focus slightly, to ensure your business’ reward and recognition efforts are making a real difference? Here are just a few ideas to get you started.
Make sure that the rewards you give your people are actually relevant and make them feel boosted. There’s no one-size-fits all approach here! Personalised rewards that cater to individual’s unique needs and interests will serve as a significant reminder that their hard work and dedication is valued by your business.
1. Focus on rewards that resonate
For appreciation to be truly genuine and emotionally impactful for employees, it’s important that it comes from the people that they work alongside, as well as those in more senior positions. Empowering everyone in your business to appreciate others through a peer-to-peer recognition tool connects colleagues and brings more meaning to the recognition process, as well as driving fairness.
2. Empower employees to share the recognition responsibility
Rewards and recognition that really boost people are delivered with heart. A transactional message of ‘Thanks for doing a good job’ won’t lift someone’s spirits as much as a genuine, thought-out message from someone that truly appreciates that individual. That’s why, while having the right tools to make that possible does truly matter, it’s even more important to make sure your team understand the value in taking the time to use it in the right way. The way that delivers real boosts.
3. Make it personal
Simply put, employee rewards and recognition should make people feel…
Seen. Celebrated. Respected. Empowered. And that’s what’ll help them truly thrive!
DELIVER REAL BOOSTS WITH BOOSTWORKS
Here at Boostworks, we care about real boosts – the impact our reward and recognition service has on the people that use it.
Not to blow our own trumpet too loudly, we’ve been helping businesses boost their people for over 22 years! So, believe us when we say that the way you celebrate and recognise your employees matters. A generic reward for a big achievement or a ‘thank you’ long after the moment just won’t cut it. To genuinely boost your people and show them you care, you need to deliver meaningful rewards and recognise individuals in ways that actually resonate with them.
At Boostworks, we get people better than anyone. We understand that what makes one person feel celebrated and appreciated won’t always be the same for others. That’s why we’ve built our app and web platform to be flexible and able to deliver personalised benefits and rewards, even on a large scale. We’ve helped hundreds of clients help their people thrive, while also tackling real people engagement challenges like retention, productivity and workplace culture. We can help you do the same!
Our team of in-house people experts are ready to help you tune into what makes your people feel recognised for their achievements (big and small!) and tailor your strategy accordingly, so you can deliver more powerful boosts that benefit your people and your business. Sound good? Book a demo with us today and see it for yourself!
