Studies show that motivated employees are more engaged and a company with engaged employees perform 22% better
Employee motivation comes in all shapes and sizes. It is important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.The workforce is getting more dynamic and, like consumers, employees expect incentives and rewards to be personalized to them and relevant to their needs and wants.

In this post, we are going to explore the key to effective employee motivation and ways to create a successful rewards program to motivate your employees.

What is Motivation really?

There are two types of motivation – extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivators are outside factors, like money, title, and praise. Intrinsic motivators are a person’s internal drivers; personal goals or their sense of purpose. These two work together and encompass the key to effective motivation. An employee with strong intrinsic motivation will find the successful completion of tasks and projects a reward in and of itself. In today’s working culture, the modern employee is placing as much emphasis on their internal satisfaction with their job or workplace as they are on the external benefits of a position. This means it has become even more important for a company to help its employees cultivate intrinsic factors to drive them forward and feel genuine satisfaction with their work and overall career.

External factors can help motivate people to undertake tasks they dislike or outperform goals. External motivators can be something simple like acknowledgment and praise or more involved like rewards and incentives. The key with external motivation is to find the right level of reward to match the task and to remember that meaningful recognition is incredibly simple and incredibly effective. In a study done by O.C. Tanner 37% of employees stated that recognition was a top motivator, above pay increase and autonomy.

“Hot Tip: When choosing a reward or incentive try and choose things that will leave an impression or be truly helpful for your team. The Spa & Wellness Gift Card will give your employees access to thousands of wellness services allowing your external reward to be used to help support an employee’s intrinsic need to live a healthy and wellness-focused lifestyle. “

Key Takeaway: Remember the contiguous factor – motivated and engaged employees heavily influence the culture around them. Ultimately a well-crafted reward and incentive program can be a self-powering machine that shapes the culture and overall effectiveness of your workforce.

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What Makes A Successful Rewards Program?

Just like a consumer expects a personal experience when interacting with a brand, employees are expecting personalized benefits and rewards in the workforce. Monetary incentives are still popular and effective, but cannot be overused. Ultimately, monetary rewards are not the only thing employees are looking for in their benefits or rewards package. A recent survey showed that 80% of respondents would choose the job with better benefits when comparing it to the same job with a higher salary.

A key struggle many organizations face is finding ways to create a highly personalized incentive program for a highly diversified workforce. The best way to achieve this? Offer rewards that have a high element of choice and are new and fresh.

“Hot Tip: Gift cards are a great way to offer choice while still appealing to the personal needs of a diverse employee group. Looking for a way to incorporate wellness into your program? Include The Spa & Wellness Gift Card and offer your team access to thousands of spa & wellness locations nationwide and the ability to experience the newest health and wellness trends/treatments immediately. “

Check out our tips & tricks for creating a great Rewards program below –

Rewards Program Tips & Tricks

  • Have a Visible Program – The more accessible and popular your program is the more it will be top of mind and play a role in an employee’s motivation. A visible program also helps employees clearly understand the value and see it play out first hand.

  • Compelling Rewards – Find the balance! Be sure that the rewards are worth the effort and relevant to your workforce. Your team has to want or need what you are offering to perform to the standards you set out.

  • Transparency Is Key – Be sure to be transparent with all program rules and workforce expectations. Employees need to feel like the system is logical, fair, and consistent so that it works across all levels and branches. If your team feels there is equality within the program they will buy into and appreciate it readily.

  • Showcase Recognition – Remember earlier, when we mentioned the easiest and most effective tool? Well, don’t forget it! The more you showcase recognition the more your employees can see the benefit to others and understand the potential benefit to themselves.