As you already know, your firm's sales employees work hard (well, the majority of them!) and in the current economic climate it could seem near to impossible to reward and reinforce recognition of superb work without going over budget.
But the good news is that you don’t have to. It has been found that sales people are not as ’materialistic’ as some colleagues may wish to believe. In fact only 10% of sales employees surveyed value material wealth and money as their biggest indicator of success (according to a sales survey conducted by the leading sales recruitment agency, Aaron Wallis in 2009).
Nevertheless rewards don’t always have to be tangible - frequent recognition of accomplishments and regular communication top the non-monetary compensation methods (Survey by staffing firmAccountemps, January 2007).
So here are some effective methods to reward your employees that aren’t going to break the bank:
1) Flexibility Offers The Most Gain With The Least Pain
A costless yet compelling reward that rises above the rest is simply flexible work schedules. Extra efforts to understand work-life balance can provide simple rewards that employees constantly strive to achieve. Such methods can range from allowing employees to work from home one day a week or attending meetings from home using webinars to allowing the flexibility for employees to start and leave earlier. The committed, productive employees will take the trust and flourish and the slackers will abuse the trust and ultimately falter.
2) Give Employee’s Greater Opportunities
Opportunities can often be the most meaningful form of recognition simply demonstrating that an employee is valued by an organisation. These can vary from being asked to stand in on a manager’s behalf during a meeting or being invited to attend industry conferences.
3) Training Goals
These could vary from offering a comprehensive range of training and qualification opportunities ranging from nationally recognised certifications to First Aid at Work courses. Training and Development schemes help employees to not only achieve organisational goals but also accomplish individual goals and further attain personal growth. Furthermore, Training and Development helps in establishing and strengthening leadership skills, motivation, loyalty, better attitudes, and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display. Two forms of training can be adopted; on-the-job training and off-the-job training. Training provides a series of planned learning experiences for individuals and builds their technical skills and competencies (F. John Reh, Employee Training - Is It Worth The Investment 2009).
4) Challenge Your Employee’s
Being trusted with a greater and more challenging work load can often be viewed as the most sincere form of flattery and commendation. A new responsibility, challenge or additional job function is a downplayed basic technique that underpins recognition and reward.
5) Moving Up That Ladder
Some 60% of people in professional roles have confessed that they would consider moving jobs for career progression. Career progression can mean different things to different people where an understanding of what opportunities exist for personal development and career advancement is a high priority for many employees (Badenoch & Clark Guide, career planning essential for employers 2010).
Creating a career planning profile enabling employees to focus on their next target role helps employees to develop their career paths both horizontally and vertically to support this ambition.
6) Personal Performance Reviews
Use PPRs as a medium to focus on employees’ motivation, personal ability and praise and use it as a tool to get rewards accordingly.
By reviewing the PPR processes and making them consistent across the company, employees will have the opportunity to have sessions with their managers to discuss their performance, get praise as well as constructive feedback. This will make the employee feel more valued and therefore more motivated to give his/her best.
This change should be implemented through consistent and accountable PPR objectives, that will eventually integrate relationship fostering as part of the day-to-day workload.
No monetary impact, but time should be invested by both Line Managers and employees for quarterly sessions as minimum.
7) The Two Secret Words and Applaud their efforts with a Personal Touch – Yes, literally
“Thank you”. The two most underused words that not only deliver the highest return on investment but help build trusting and respectful relationships between employees and managers. Whilst this may seem all a little too obvious, telling your employees what specifically you liked about a great job they’ve done not only makes them feel appreciated and valued but they are highly likely to do a great job again (Micheal Guld, Guild Resource Group).
Applaud their efforts: A standing ovation by the entire team at the next meeting could be really worthwhile for that employee that has performed outstandingly. Something also just as powerful yet as simple (and totally inexpensive) as an applaud is a hand written thank-you note. Personal “thank-you’s” in this way illustrate courtesy, admiration and gratitude and can make your employee feel a million dollars.
8) Wall of Fame
Announcements on a bulletin board, “wall of fame” or newsletter detailing those who’ve accomplished something truly-special can be immeasurable. Your top sales staff will be desperately attempting to earn their place on the wall of fame or within a publicised announcement.
9) Money, Money, Money
In reality, despite Hertzberg’s views that monetary methods of motivation have little value - firm’s still use money as a major incentive. There are a variety of payment schemes that business’s can use to motivate their employees, these can vary from performance related pay, sales commissions, bonuses, share ownership, profit sharing and fringe benefits.
10) Reward effort as well as success
Even if their ideas or efforts sometimes fail, you want employees to keep producing them. Creating an annual award for ‘the best ideas that didn’t work’ can help stimulate innovation and positive behavior (Alan Weiss, president of the Summit Consulting Group Inc.)
To Conclude
Success of rewarding employees can be measured by increased productivity, satisfied customers, improved profitability and importantly employee morale!
Whatever method is adopted, it must be remembered that recognising employees is not only a nice thing to do it is an illimitable tool to reward your most momentous asset – your employees.
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