At Home Rewards – why it matters now more than ever

Why should we care so much about reward and recognition now more than ever?

With Coronavirus still looming large it’s a worrying time for your workforce.

On top of the challenges now faced working from home en masse, they’ll be concerned about anything from their health to the state of the economy post lockdown. In short it’s likely productivity and morale will be down.

Employee recognition is one of the key drivers when motivating employees in the workplace and the majority of them would work harder if they were recognised for their efforts.

Companies that give regular thanks to their employees have seen their revenue grow two times greater than companies with lower staff engagement levels. But as easy as that might sound, it can actually be a daunting task to really motivate your people, especially when it comes to people who are working from home.

Remote working itself isn’t a new concept and organisations across the world have been adapting to this idea for some time now. But even with that, there are times when remote workers can feel like “second class citizens”.

They often feel left out and neglected. Quite often they feel shunned and in some cases they might not even be able to be rewarded as all rewards that are given inside the company are only available for people in their local offices. Something now of course not even possible.

In return this can lead to poor employee retention, decreased productivity and in the end – loss of revenue. Now imagine what happens when most if not all of your employees work from home due to a global pandemic?

So what can you do to improve the situation and avoid having unmotivated employees, you ask?

One of the best ways is to establish a system of rewards that are built with remote workers in mind. Remember, if a reward works for a remote worker, it will work for the whole team.

Here are some ideas to recognise and reward your team:

1. Food

It has been said “the way to a worker’s heart is through their stomach”, over the past four years there has been an increase in demand for food related-perks. So why stop now? With so many delivery to home options you are spoilt for choice on what to give them. Big national chains now deliver to the door via services like JustEat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

2. Wellbeing rewards

One of the few benefits of the Covid enforced lockdown has seen a big jump in awareness of the need to exercise for your mental health. So as well as directing them to great resources like the BBC or Youtube for home workouts and tips you could always give them a helping hand with extras like yoga mats, water bottles or kettlebells. Just some of the things that can boost your employee home workout routines.

3. Home entertainment

Music, a new movie or even a video game can help your employees unwind from work and reset their mindset for the next day. A restful evening or lunchtime ensures your teams and your people are focused on the job at hand.

Want more ideas? Check out our Top tips for getting your workforce through the next few months here.