Our top five tips for rewarding and investing in your workforce.

Have you ever wondered how you can reward and invest in your workforce without just giving out pay rises? Our Chief Commercial Officer, Michael Kalli, shares his top five tips. Take a look below...

Motivating and encouraging your employees to reach their full potential can be a bit of a struggle. Traditionally this has all been about promotions, pay rises and big bonuses, but in recent years, how employers reward and invest in their workforce has shifted. We're quickly learning that employee engagement comes from a few different incentives, not just financial benefits. 

All too often, employers see employee reward schemes and incentive programmes as an expense instead of an investment. However, you and your employees will actually benefit from having a decent reward programme in place.

When recognition and rewards are organised and implemented correctly, they can positively impact ROI and staff satisfaction. The best reward schemes focus on encouraging and motivating your employees to be the best they can be. It's not about throwing more money at them in rises and bonus schemes; you've got to invest in your employees in various ways.

Promote ownership and entrepreneurship.

For most employees, it takes more than just cash incentives to motivate and encourage them long-term. As a company, you should provide your staff with trust, ownership, and performance management. Every employee should be treated as though they're their own entrepreneur. 

They should feel a sense of pride and ownership over their work and job role and giving them the freedom and support to really embrace their position as their own is a great incentive for them to stay with you long term. 

With this leadership mindset, you'll design a positive work culture where any other incentives are a real bonus for an already engaged and motivated team.

Create an inspiring work environment.

Don't underestimate the impact of your workspace. If you furnish your team with an inspiring and well-suited work environment, they'll be more motivated to work hard and put in the hours. It's so important to give your employees a space they enjoy coming to every day – it can be one of the biggest incentives of all. 

Your business's work environment should be designed around the people, not the building, and you can create a range of areas and setups for various needs while at work. Investing in your work environment is a great way to improve productivity and the overall happiness of your staff.

Plan learning and development.

Another way to boost engagement? Investing in your team's growth and development. You've got to set a clear plan for progression opportunities and provide your staff with relevant development programmes. Investing in employee learning is a brilliant business investment and an even better incentive and benefit for your staff members. Implement a learning plan for every employee and invest in relevant training and development courses.

Invest in team building.

For most individuals, one of the biggest factors in workplace happiness is the people and team members they work alongside. Investing in and encouraging your team to bond is a great motivator. Not only will you reward your staff with some fun team-building days out, but you'll also enhance their work environment by improving their work relationships. 

You don't have to spend tons of cash on expensive team-building days. Simple social occasions are often enough to get a small team to bond. Try organising a monthly Friday lunch in the local pub or a staff sports day.

Recognise good performance.

Every employee wants respect, responsibility, and freedom in their roles. But they also want recognition and reassurance that they're doing a good job. Regular coaching, one-to-ones, and appraisals are great ways to help your team members know where they stand. 

Offering rewards for excellent performance is an added perk. They don't always have to be cash-focused but can instead be an extra holiday day or membership at a discount dining club.

Your employees will never feel the same way you do about your business. They won't have the urge to do a little bit of work on a Saturday night as you might, but that's because it is your business and not theirs. But investing time and money into your team will motivate and encourage them to work hard while also boosting staff satisfaction and retention rates. 

If you can help every employee to feel like their own entrepreneur within their role, you'll reap the benefits of a positive and motivated workforce.