Under normal circumstances restaurant gift cards and gas cards are par for the course for employee rewards, but this year more employees are looking for time off and extra cash when they are recognized for their work performance.
Rewards systems vary company to company depending on the size of the firm, its workforce, and the expectations of its employees. More formalized systems normally award employees based on previously communicated goals and expectations in larger companies, while small acts of recognition for good work are common across all businesses.
Now, the coronavirus pandemic has simultaneously increased the need for employee engagement efforts while restricting the cash and reward options available to them.
"Companies want to recognize and encourage employees to go above and beyond, " Bob Bethel, vice president of HR and learning services at the Employers' Association, said. "You want to make people feel good about doing that and then that increases engagement. With increased engagement, your employees do a better job, your customers are happier, you get more business, and you can reward employees more. So, it's all a big circle."
Mr. Bethel and other local human resources professionals emphasized that, for employee rewards to be successful, companies need to listen to their employees' interests and needs when deciding what kind of rewards to offer.
Savannah Marten, the executive director of the Pregnancy Center of Greater Toledo, keeps a list of each employee's favorite items, like candy, restaurants, and colors, for when she wants to express gratitude to them, for example.
Other firms also need to take the diversity of their workforce into account when choosing how to reward good work. For example, firms do not want to treat different sets of employees differently lest they create division within the company. If companies mainly have a sales or production force, it is easy to build a rewards system for everyone made up of production benchmarks, Connie Koch of Toledo-based HR Systems said.
Rewards for employees often consist of items of value, like gift cards, cash bonuses, or gift bags from sponsors or the firm itself. Some firms, especially those with high-earning sales departments, will host big ticket events like expensive dinners for their employees at the end of the year.
"Most companies, most large companies, are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to holiday bonuses this year," Tom Hurley, principal at Findley, an HR consultancy with offices in Toledo, said. "If the business has been impacted negatively by coronavirus, a lot of employees will not meet the goals set for them to trigger bonus payments at the beginning of the year through no fault of their own."
Other rewards can consist of items of emotional value, like time off or appreciative mementos. Sometimes those rewards are tangible, like in the form of a plaque, but they can also be intangible, like an all-company email detailing the recent work of an employee or a video tribute to a recent project, said Ms. Koch.
These smaller, more informal rewards should be tailored to each individual employee. For example, a shy employee might not want company-wide praise. Instead, Ms. Koch recommends a one-on-one lunch with the employee.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many companies are looking for different ways to increase employee morale and engagement.
"We practice many of the typical ways companies reward their employees, things like quarterly parties, peer-nominated awards with cash incentives, personal baby and wedding showers to include the whole family, and cook-off challenges," Judy McFarland, President and CEO of Thread Marketing Group, said. "Due to COVID and our forced separation as a team, we make sure to hold bi-weekly Zoom meetups for group birthday sing-a-longs, fun artistic challenges, and of course online happy hours!"
Now, many employees are asking for more flexibility from their employers when they meet their goals, Mr. Bethel said. He added that, as the school year picks up again, more working parents will request flexibility from their employers. Restaurant and entertainment gift cards are becoming far less popular for employees.
The Image Group, a marketing and promotional products company based in Holland, has been filling more orders for stay-at-home survival kits, thank you boxes, special employee onboarding kits, and PPE for its clients to send to employees, according to company president Zack Ottenstein.
Mr. Hurley also pointed out that rewards, not only differ in size across industries and companies during the pandemic, but also in type. For example, one type of non-monetary recognition offered by nursing homes and hospitals are the "Heroes work here" yard signs. Mr. Bethel noted that hazard pay for frontline workers at the start of the pandemic also constituted a reward.
Some companies are also struggling to hire more employees to meet rising demand because of health concerns related to the coronavirus and the now-expired temporary boost in unemployment payments, Mr. Bethel said. Those companies might promise new employees return bonuses as a reward for coming to work for them.
"You have to make sure you're going that extra step in reaching everyone in the organization during this time," Ms. Koch said. "Make sure you're developing your employees so that they're more valuable to your organization and investing in them."
Overall, and especially during a global pandemic, HR professionals say it is important to reward employees for their work to build loyalty and create a positive culture around the company.
First Published August 14, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
