Your Company Needs More R&R - Part 2

by Bill Collier

If you read last month’s column, you already know that’s Rewards & Recognition, not Rest & Relaxation.

First, let’s briefly review Part 1, where the question was, “What should I be recognizing?” The answer: Anything and everything: Attendance. Birthdays. Company anniversaries. Productivity. Alignment with core values. Teamwork. Personal best performance. Team’s best performance.

This month, we’ll dig into ways to reward your team.

“Rewards” doesn’t necessarily mean cash, although cash is certainly an option. The options are limited only by your imagination. You can reward your people with time off, a trophy, a gift card, a special parking space, lunch with the boss or, well, it’s limited only by your imagination. In fact, all of us are smarter than any one of us. (Yes, even smarter than the boss.) So, tap into the wisdom of the crowd and have the team dream up creative rewards.

Let’s address the use of cash as an incentive or reward. Everyone loves cash, but I encourage you to expand your reward ideas beyond cash. You can create more fun and excitement by getting creative. Cash will be spent and forgotten. But a fun, creative reward will long be remembered by all involved.

Individual or Team Rewards?

So, should you reward your folks as a team, or provide individual rewards? The answer is “yes.” Create opportunities to earn rewards individually and as a team. Watch for reward-worthy performance and respond with a reward spontaneously, but also make predetermined rewards available for achieving goals and targets.
Here’s a list of ten non-cash rewards to jump-start your thinking:
1. Company logo items
2. Special parking space
3. Create a page on company intranet to honor a person or department
4. Management team barbeques for a department or entire company
5. Management team washes cars in the lot
6. Thank-you card signed by management and mailed to home
7. T-shirts imprinted with the goal that was achieved
8. “Leave work 15 minutes early” pass
9. Lunch with CEO or owner
10. Team watches a movie at the office or take the team to a theater

Track Progress

Create a system for measuring progress toward a reward. Let’s say your three person sales team is pursuing a first quarter revenue target of $1,000,000. The reward: A round of golf with the CEO.

A great way to monitor progress is a scoreboard. How about a golf-themed scoreboard? Maybe an enlarged scorecard from the course, and each of the 18 holes can be a milestone on the way to target.

Getting everyone involved in keeping score increases the excitement and adds to the “win.” It makes the entire experience more memorable and reinforces the tie-in between the performance and the reward.

Get Started

Don’t get overwhelmed by the possibilities. Start small, build your R&R system over time and enjoy the results. n

Bill Collier is the St. Louis area head coach for The Great Game of Business. He works with organizations who want to improve financial results, engage their employees and create a winning culture. Bill can be reached at 314-221-8558, GreatGame.com/stl, GGOBSTL.com or bcollier@ggob.com.