Employee Reward System: 7 Key Things to Look Out For

It won't be wrong to say that we are currently living in one of the progressive eras of human history. The massive adoption of technology has now molded our socio-economic system and made it more competitive. And to keep up in this competitive environment, organizations are leaving no stones unturned for enhancing their employees' performance. This is where an employee reward system becomes very useful and gives the organizations a competitive advantage.

Employee reward systems help organizations acknowledge their employees' achievements by praising them with monetary or non-monetary rewards. With such a system, you can give different types of rewards that motivate employees to give their best performance.

A well-managed reward system also helps bring down issues like employee turnover and absenteeism. At the same time, it provides a great opportunity for employers to attract the best talents on board.

However, implementing such a system is not that easy, and choosing one could be tricky. Hence, to help the HR managers select the best reward system for their employees, I have listed down a few things that they must look for in such a system.

7 Key Features that an Employee Reward System Must Have

1. Point-based Rewarding

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Employee rewarding in today's globalized world has changed completely. Many organizations are now adopting a point-based reward structure because of its cost-effectiveness. Since the reward points hold some monetary value, even the employees feel great when they receive them.

Reward systems make the task of allocating these points very easy. The managers can set the type events of events for which the employees should get reward points. Along, with this they are also able to keep an eye on the usage of points which enhances the transparency.

Point-based rewards are highly recommended for organizations with overseas employees as it allows easy currency conversions within the reward system itself. Therefore, whenever you look out for a reward system, make sure that it provides point-based rewards with a conversion feature.

2. Customizable Approval Process

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The management structure varies from one organization to the other. So, it might pose a problem if the proposed system is not able to address such variations.

In most organizations, the system of employee reward is based on the process of nomination and approval. The approval process often has to pass through several levels before you can confer the reward to your employees. This is a very time-consuming process, and any delays could adversely affect your employee reward initiative.

Therefore, to make things simple make sure that the system allows you to customize your nomination process when required.

3. The Flexibility of Choosing Rewards

One of the biggest USPs of a modern employee reward system is that it gives complete flexibility to your employees to select their own rewards. It is one of the most important things you must look at in a modern employee rewards platform. The reward point system works best when it is redeemable as vouchers and gift cards from the best brands on the platform itself.

So, make sure to ask your reward system provider for the reward catalog that is available for the employees whenever they like to redeem their points and claim the desired reward.

4. Supports Peer Recognition and Rewarding

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Peer-to-peer reward and recognition is the most effective way of appreciating your employees since employees seek approval from their peers. Employees feel elated when their efforts are recognized by their team members when compared to their managers. This is because everyone working together knows how much effort their peers are putting into their work.

Hence, look for such a system that allows your employees to recognize their peers and nominate their peers for monetary rewards to cheer them up.

Related: How to Create a Culture of Peer Recognition in the Organization?

5. Always Go for a Cloud-based Reward System

Cloud-based systems have become necessary for every organization, whoever wants to thrive in today's date. These systems are an effective answer to issues related to scalability and deployment.

So, by choosing a cloud-based reward system, you can recognize employees and reward them irrespective of their location or size.

Also, the best part of cloud-based systems is that you can customize their design according to the way you want it. So, don't forget to opt for white label solutions like putting the company logo or adding some other elements you want in your reward system.

6. Check if the Reward System has Mobile Accessibility

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Smartphones have become an essential part of our lives. They now support our various day-to-day activities with the help of applications that one can easily download. Therefore, you must also see if the proposed reward system can be accessed with a digital mobile app.

Having a dedicated rewards app would be very beneficial to you and your employees. It'll further enhance your workplace rewarding experience by enabling real-time rewarding. This also increases the engagement over the system, meaning that your employee recognition and rewards program is heading in the right direction.

7. Easy to Implement

Whenever you decide to implement an employee reward system in your organization, you should always keep your long-term goals. So, a system that is both robust and easy to implement would make for a perfect choice in this regard. You must also make sure that you have complete knowledge of the system you are implementing. Doing this will make you realize the system's complexities and allow you to take care of any issue that might arise with the system.

Try to test the system with a few employees on board and record their views about it before the final implementation.

Learn more about the Vantage Rewards Platform and how it can help you.

Bottom Line

Employee recognition and employee rewards might go hand in hand, but both are quite different. Employers can recognize their employees anytime personally or over an email by letting everyone know about their achievements. However, the real problem arises when it comes to rewarding them in real-time.

Employee reward systems help the organizations address all the existing issues related to rewarding employees in and off the workplace in real-time. Such systems have positively impacted many organizations and are now a part of their work culture.

In the end, I'll only say that employees are your prime assets, and they deserve the best care from you for all their hard work that brings you success. And rewarding your employees based on their performance and behavior is one of the best things you can do to support them.

Working as a SEO Analyst and Content Marketer at Vantage Circle, Angshuman always stays curious and is passionate about learning new things. Got any question? Drop a mail at editor@vantagecircle.com