5 Ways To Approach Non-Monetary Employee Rewards (And Why They Matter)
Because of the way that the marketplace is shifting, it can be difficult for employees to hire and retain employees, which is why a lot of employers turn to spending money as a way to hire and keep top talent. But believe it or not, while financial motivation can attract talent to your business, it’s not enough to keep it. Recently, companies who have been incorporating non0monetrary compensation strategies have been seeing better results on revenue.
Keep reading for some alternative approaches to employee rewards and why they matter.
Why do non-monetary rewards matter?
Financial rewards have been the primary award for recognising employee efforts for years now. While monetary rewards like raises and bonuses have been known to improve employee performance, they’re not the only employee rewards that have been proven to see results; non-monetary awards can also boost engagement and satisfaction levels, too.
One recent study published by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business found that non-monetary compensation was a better motivator for long-term engagement than monetary rewards. They showed that money was only an effective motivator for a short period of time. When it comes to value for money, long-term engagement can significantly impact the bottom line of a company – not to mention that many employees are also happy to return the praise for businesses that treat them well.
5 non-monetary approaches
- Recognition
At the end of the day, employees just want to be valued for the time and effort they put into their work. Research shows that companies with defined recognition programmes fare better than those with inconsistent or non-existent recognition strategies, so this is one of the best approaches.
- Physical rewards
Non-monetary just means that employees don’t directly receive money, so companies can choose to use inexpensive physical rewards as praise. These types of rewards give employees something they can physically see, and use a concrete reminder that they’re doing a good job.
- Learning opportunities
Actively investing in an employee’s learning can also improve engagement, benefit the company, and make the employee happier. Even something as basic as increased responsibility may suggest to the employee that their managers feel they’re ready for a higher role, for example.
- Great flexibility
Anything that contributes to a healthier work-life balance will work as a brilliant motivating factor for employees. This might include more flexible holiday time or telecommuting options, but anything that could help to reduce stress levels is bound to work wonders.
- More time with management
Although this doesn’t specifically sound like a reward, having more alone time with management or supervisors in the company can be an alluring proposition for many employees who are looking to advance in their role or otherwise get ahead in the workplace.
The bottom line
Overall, for long term retention and engagement, non-monetary employee rewards work just as well as monetary ones – if not better, in some cases. In order to reap those benefits, businesses must make sure that their rewards focus on the happiness and wellbeing of employees. When this occurs, employees will be more likely to produce greater results, which means great things for the company, too.
