Unfortunately, you can’t motivate everyone with the same reward. But here’s a strategy that works for just about everybody.
Everyone’s motivated by something different. For example:
- single parents may place a higher value on flextime
- people who see themselves in a career — as opposed to a job — may be motivated by training and opportunities to lead, and
- those in school may respond best to tuition reimbursement programs.
The point: Tailored rewards programs are a must to maximize employee productivity these days. But for them to work, they must be built with a strong foundation.
Where do you start? Compensation consultant Laura Schroeder recently offered up five building blocks every rewards program needs to get off the ground.
- Choice — The more choice a company can offer its employees when it comes to rewards, the more meaningful (and effective) it’ll be.
- Flexibility — Rewards don’t always have to require writing checks. Some employees may actually prefer opportunities to grow, learn, lead, relax or contribute to the community.
- Freedom — People want to be able to control their workday as much as possible. The more freedom you can allow employees to have, the better.
- Guidance (for managers) — If managers don’t know how your rewards program works, it’ll fail. HR/Benefits must work with managers to help create reward opportunities for staffers.
- Consistency — To avoid legal trouble, your rewards program must be applied consistently across all employee groups. That means no one should get preferential treatment, and the criteria for the way in which you allocate rewards must be communicated to employees.
