Regardless of your key business issue, whether it is increasing sales or maximising profitability, an effective reward and recognition strategy can help motivate your staff to perform better. It can also reinforce behaviours you want to encourage to achieve your objectives.

When developing a reward and recognition strategy, find out which incentives really motivate your people. It is important to remember that ‘rewards’ or ‘benefits’ may be intangible; the Work Foundation found that work content and fulfilling personal goals and ambitions are both more important, and working hours are almost as important as the level of pay offered.

When reviewing your organisation’s reward and recognition strategy, think about whether it:

• Is part of a strategy to improve overall performance.
• Is developed in consultation with people and representative groups.
• Is rooted in an understanding of what really motivates your people.
• Is applied - and is seen to be applied - fairly across the organisation.
• Encourages teamwork, by creating a culture where individual and team success is recognised.
• Uses benchmarking to compare your reward and recognition strategy with similar organisations.

How you reward and recognise your people should create a working environment where they value the contributions and successes of others. Ultimately it should encourage your people to focus on improving the organisation’s performance.

For more information on how Investors in People can help you to reward and recognise your people, register for Interactive here.

Interactive is a free online advice tool which features a simple diagnostic, plus a wide range of case studies, good practice downloads and hints and tips.