The future of work is rapidly evolving, and companies need to adapt to new challenges to retain top talent and maintain a healthy bottom line. Employee recognition and rewards are becoming an essential piece of the future of work, and platforms like Lumi are leading the way in enhancing employee engagement and boosting company performance.
However, with the rise of remote work and the gig economy, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for companies to foster a sense of community and provide employees with clear goals and feedback. In this blog post, we’ll explore how effective employee recognition and reward programs can help companies address these challenges and succeed in the future of work.
The State of the Future of Work
The future of work is already here, and it’s changing fast. Remote work is becoming the norm, with more and more companies adopting flexible work arrangements. In fact, a 2020 survey from FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics found that 65% of employees would prefer to work at least three days a week remotely. Additionally, the rise of the gig economy means that more people are working as independent contractors, freelancers, and consultants. This trend is expected to continue, with some experts predicting that up to 50% of the US workforce could be gig workers by 2027.
While this shift towards remote work and the gig economy brings many benefits, it also presents challenges for organizations. For example, with fewer opportunities for in-person interactions, it can be challenging to foster a sense of community and belonging among employees. Additionally, the lack of traditional organizational structures can make providing employees with clear goals and feedback easier.
Why Employee Recognition and Rewards are Critical
In this new landscape, employee recognition and rewards are more critical than ever before. Here are just a few reasons why:
Boosts Morale and Engagement
Recognition and rewards are powerful tools for boosting morale and engagement. Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work. Additionally, recognition and rewards can help create a positive work culture, which can be a significant factor in retaining top talent.
Reinforces Positive Behaviors
Recognition and rewards can also be used to reinforce positive behaviors. By recognizing and rewarding employees for meeting or exceeding goals, organizations can encourage those behaviors to continue. This can help create a culture of excellence where employees strive to do their best work.
Fosters a Sense of Community
Fostering a sense of community among employees in a remote or gig work environment can be challenging. Recognition and rewards can create that sense of community by providing opportunities for employees to connect and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. This can be especially important for remote workers who may feel isolated or disconnected from their colleagues.
Provides Clear Goals and Feedback
Finally, recognition and rewards can be used to provide employees with clear goals and feedback. Organizations can help employees understand what is expected of them and track their progress by setting specific goals and rewarding them for achieving them. Additionally, recognition and rewards can be used to provide feedback on performance, which can help employees improve and grow.
Best Practices for Employee Recognition and Rewards
Now that we’ve established why employee recognition and rewards are critical, let’s look at some best practices for implementing these programs.
Be Specific and Timely
Employee recognition and rewards are most effective when they are specific and timely. However, with many employees working remotely, tracking accomplishments and timely recognition is often complicated and time-consuming.
Lumi’s Assist technology provides companies with an easy-to-use tool that helps them write meaningful messages and schedule gifts automatically. Managers can set up a recognition program and let us handle the rest. With the platform’s scheduling feature, managers can ensure that recognition is delivered on time, every time.
Lumi Sparks are designed to help managers recognize employees in real-time, ensuring that recognition is delivered when it’s most impactful. The platform offers a range of customizable templates for recognition messages, making it easy for managers to provide specific feedback on what the employee did well and the positive impact their work had.. This helps employees understand exactly what they did right and how it contributed to the company’s success.
Ensuring that recognition is specific, timely, and impactful boosts employee morale, improves engagement, and fosters a positive work culture.
Provide Meaningful Recognition
One of the biggest challenges of employee recognition and rewards programs are finding rewards that are meaningful to employees. What works for one employee may not work for another, and it can be difficult for managers to find rewards that everyone will appreciate. This is where Lumi’s platform shines.
Lumi offers a range of reward options tailored to employees’ interests and values. Instead of providing a generic reward, our platform allows the employee to have the final choice for recognition. This means that employees can choose a reward that is most meaningful to them, making recognition more personal and impactful.
Lumi’s reward options include a variety of gifts and experiences. By providing a range of reward options, our platform ensures that employees can choose something that resonates with them.
By allowing employees to choose their own rewards, Lumi makes recognition more meaningful and personal. This can help boost employee morale and improve engagement, leading to a more productive and successful company.
Foster a Sense of Community
Fostering a sense of community among employees in a remote or gig work environment can be arduous. Recognition and rewards need to be part of your organization’s culture to drive employee engagement effectively. This means making it a regular part of your company’s communication and operations. Consider setting up a recognition program that is visible to everyone so employees know that recognition is an integral part of your company’s culture.
Recognizing teams with Lumi helps employees feel more connected to their colleagues and foster a sense of community, even in a remote work environment.
Additionally, employees can feel even more appreciated and valued by sharing their recognition with their friends and family.
Get Input from Employees
Getting feedback from recipients is essential to ensure that your recognition and rewards program is effective. With Lumi’s platform, the instant feedback loop is created by asking recipients about their experience right away.
Immediately upon selecting their gift, recipients are asked to rate their experience and share a thank you note with the person who sent them the gift. Lumi then collects and analyzes this feedback, providing managers with valuable insights into the effectiveness of their recognition and rewards program. This information can be used to make adjustments to the program, ensuring that it is constantly evolving and improving to meet the needs of employees.
Additionally, the feedback recipients provide can help managers understand the rewards and recognition most meaningful to their employees. This information personalizes the recognition and rewards program, making it more impactful and effective.
Using Lumi’s intelligent feedback to provide rewards that employees truly appreciate leads to a more engaged and productive workforce.
Make Sure Everyone is Included
It’s important to recognize everyone, not just top performers. Every employee contributes to your organization, and everyone deserves to be recognized for their hard work. Consider a program that allows employees to recognize each other so everyone has the opportunity to feel valued and appreciated. Lumi’s Assist tool makes sending recognition on dates to every employee.
Conclusion
In the future of work, employee recognition and rewards are critical to success. Lumi’s platform provides an easy-to-use tool for managers to deliver timely and meaningful recognition, fostering a sense of community and boosting employee morale. With Lumi’s employee choice, instant feedback loop, and assist features, organizations can personalize their recognition and rewards program, continually improving and evolving.