How to Reward Employee Performance

Always show your employees that you appreciate their efforts.

Employees who feel unappreciated or under-appreciated can suffer from decreased morale, according to Entrepreneur.com columnist, David G. Javitch, Ph.D. To determine the reason for declining morale, ask the employees. Then, attempt to correct any issues addressed by the employees, and establish a reward system that attracts, retains and motivates employees. Financial rewards can help to motivate employees, but other factors are equally important to influencing performance. To obtain the desired results, the employer must reward employees in various ways.

Instructions

1. Praise deserving employees consistently and in public. Employees want to know their efforts are appreciated; otherwise, they feel undervalued. Supervisors and managers should extend their sincere thanks--verbally and in writing--to employees who meet or exceed work expectations.

2. Assign challenging tasks. Employees who are bored with mundane assignments that do not allow them to develop new skills or to learn something new tend to be unmotivated. Assess your employees' skills and workloads and assign appropriately challenging tasks to indicate that you value their contributions, acknowledge their potential and believe in their capabilities.

3. Offer professional growth and development programs. Provide educational programs, training or seminars that expand employees' skills and knowledge. Both the employee and the company benefit when the employee broadens her expertise.

4. Award paid leave. For instance, give employees who exceed their goals with up to a week's paid leave annually.

5. Introduce deserving employees to important clients, key suppliers or senior management. Mentioning the employee's value to these individuals can help to further the employee's career and boost his self-confidence.

6. Give salary increases. If the employee attains new skills, enhances her existing skills or assumes additional responsibilities within the scope of the position, increase her salary to an appropriate level within her salary range.

7. Create a Wall of Fame. Establish a space within the firm to display the photos of employees who exceed certain goals or reach specific milestones, such as many years of satisfactory service.

8. Implement telecommuting programs, if possible. Begin with one day of telecommuting, in which the employee can email or phone in his assignments, then include more telecommuting days if performance increases. Telecommuting relieves the employee from stress at work and allows him flexibility to take care of personal obligations during traditional business hours as long as his work also gets done.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important that you reward employees' efforts and not just their successes. Employees will not always meet or exceed company expectations. If an employee makes a valiant attempt at an assignment but fails to produce satisfactory results, let her know that you appreciate her efforts and that you are willing to help her to achieve success.

References

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Performance Management
• HR World: 25 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime)
• "Entrepreneur Magazine;" Improving Employee Morale; David Javitch; January 2005