Creative low cost employee rewards can increase employee engagement, staff commitment and boost morale. They can also add an element of competition and fun among employees. Here are some easy and quick steps any organisation can take.

Creative Low Cost Employee Rewards

Employee rewards is one way to build staff engagement in an organisation. Increasing workforce engagement can improve productivity, customer service and lower staff turnover.

According to recent research by great{with}talent employee rewards are a top driver of staff turnover in 2014. Therefore, it’s all the more important to use reward and recognition ideas.

On the other hand, not every organisation can afford a stadium box or big bonuses but they don’t always need to. These low cost employee reward ideas can go a long way to improving employee engagement.

Read: Low Cost Creative Employee Recognition Ideas.

New Employees

During the onboarding process it’s a good idea to inform new employees about any rewards and recognition program. This will immediately provide staff incentives and increase employee engagement.

During this conversation it’s also helpful to pay particular attention to any creative employee rewards. This shows that your organisation can offer things that new starters are unlikely to get elsewhere.

Moreover, Inc. points out that it’s important for companies to first lay out the behaviour they want to reinforce. Therefore, informing new hires of what actions get rewards can direct them in how they should behave.

Say Thank You

Saying “thank you” to staff in a personal way is an affective employee recognition tool. It can also be taken up a notch to increase the results.

Kevin Kruse proposed arranging for a boss several levels up to stop by to say thanks. These employees can also be offered a one-to-one lunch.

By making a public gesture of thanks, staff can feel appreciated. Additionally, employee motivation can be increased to achieve such rewards.

A one-to-one can also be pitched as a quick mentoring or coaching session. This can give employees the opportunity to ask questions about furthering their career alongside building a relationship with someone of influence.

Another low cost employee reward is gift certificates and movie vouchers. These can be used to celebrate job anniversaries as well as above and beyond measures.

This does not require a big budget. Yet, as with all employee rewards, it’s important to set the perameters, stick to the budget and reward all equally.

Furthermore Business Management Daily suggest tailoring employee rewards to generational differences. Whether it’s sending a baby blanket to new parents or iTunes vouchers for music fans.

Create Competition

They also came up with the reward and recognition idea of “Secrets of success” and “Take a walk in my shoes” videos. The latter shows a typical working day of an employee. Whilst The Guardian has encouraged the use of more video in employee engagement.

These can be added to newsletters and staff mailing lists, for example. They can also be used in the onboarding process as part of the welcome e-mail for new employees in a similar role.

Likewise an Employee of the Month can be awarded in front of other staff plus the reasons why they were chosen. This may include an above and beyond anecdote for a personal touch and to show sincere appreciation.

These employee reward ideas are a public way to thank employees whilst creating competition amongst staff. Again, re-enforcing good behaviour and increasing employee engagement.

Contact great{with}talent and find out more about their TalentEngage employee engagement surveys.

(Main image FPM Chartered Accountants)