How to reward employees who have worked extra hours and gone above and beyond during the pandemic
In times of trouble or uncertainty in business, employees that step up and go the extra mile make all the difference. They are the ones that keep businesses going and should be rewarded for their efforts in order to sustain their motivation and engagement. However, the economic impact of the pandemic has meant that bonuses, pay increases and other typical financial rewards are out of the question for many businesses.
So, how can you give something back to individuals, teams and your overall business during this crisis?
There are of course many different types of reward out there, and it completely depends on your business’ resources and requirements as to how you decide to say ‘thank you’ to your people. One thing that’s really crucial to keep in mind though is that, where possible, your rewards should be memorable and meaningful, whether delivered on an individual or company-wide basis.
Spot bonuses and one-off cash rewards
Otherwise known as one-off cash rewards, spot bonuses are a great way of rewarding individual or groups of employees for specific behaviour, actions or results. Because they’re delivered at the discretion of your business, they tend to be a lot smaller than annual or quarterly company bonuses, but that doesn’t mean they’re not valuable.
Many retailers with frontline workers have echoed this sentiment during the pandemic by rewarding employees based on the hours they work. For example, Ocado gave their employees a 10% bonus on all the hours they worked from 23rd March. On top of this, frontline workers at John Lewis and Waitrose were given an extra £25 for each day they worked during April and May.
By implementing something similar or simply delivering one-off cash rewards to those that have gone the extra mile during this challenging period, you’ll demonstrate just how much your employees’ hard work is appreciated. To ensure all your employees get the opportunity to receive such rewards, you could set aside a pool of money specifically for spot bonuses, and give your managers the ability to allocate rewards as and when they see fit throughout this period.
Although you may not be able to financially reward your employees as much as you usually would, providing some kind of monetary reward will go a long way at this moment in time. With the difficulties of the current economic climate, the opportunity to receive such a reward will be even more valued and help sustain your employees’ motivation levels.
Non-cash rewards
Now is a pivotal time to support the financial wellbeing of your employees, but that doesn’t mean you have to deliver cash rewards. Non-cash rewards in the form of physical gifts, experiences or reward points that can be redeemed on products can help alleviate financial pressures, and in many ways are more memorable for individual employees.
Reward points in particular are very useful and are increasing in popularity among businesses because they give employees the ability to choose their rewards. Thanks to technology, this can be very easy to administer via a reward platform. It allows managers to assign points to individual team members when they see fit, while employees can also access a catalogue of rewards from which they can spend their points whenever they like.
Having this freedom and choice means that employees can treat themselves to a special gift or experience that will hold personal value to them. If your platform allows employees to top-up their points with their own money, they can also purchase big ticket items and use their reward points to subsidise the overall cost. If an employee receives reward points and then uses them to go towards a brand new TV, for example, that TV is always going to hold significance and be a memorable reward.
Flexible working
We’ve entered a new world of remote working which has benefitted people in a number of ways. As we slowly return to a sense of normality, flexible working is high on the agenda. Therefore, a small but simple gesture of gratitude to your employees is updating your work policy to encapsulate more flexible working practices. Many of your employees will have sacrificed their free time for the sake of your business over the past few months, so being open to further flexibility long-term will help your employees regain a better work/life balance.
In the same way, perhaps you can give your people an extra day of holiday to make up for the extra time they’ve put in? Duvet days have become popular because employees can take a day out to simply relax, binge-watch Netflix and forget about work – no questions asked. How flexible you can be will obviously depend on your business, but being open to new working practices that benefit your employees’ lives both in and out of work is a valuable reward that will clearly demonstrate that efforts during the pandemic haven’t been taken for granted.
Say thank you
To compliment the rewards you give your employees, make sure you’re saying thank you and actually outlining why you’re grateful. Delivering rewards with a genuine message of gratitude and appreciation will enhance the overall meaning and value. On top of that, highlighting specific and individual behaviours, actions or results in the process will demonstrate why employees are being thanked and, if publicly acknowledged, drive other employees to mirror these actions in their own roles.
For many businesses, it simply isn’t feasible to be spending money on rewards at the moment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give something back to your people. There are a number of creative, free reward ideas out there that will show your employees that they’re valued.
This article is provided by peoplevalue.
In partnership with peoplevalue – The Employee Engagement Company
We are a leading provider of employee reward&recognition, benefits delivery&wellbeing solutions.
