Ten ways you can reward your wonderful team

Bringing your staff along as you build up your company is key to becoming a successful scale-up. It’s pretty obvious that salary alone doesn’t cut it to keep your team working hard, so what is it?

A 2018 survey found that out of workers who are demotivated, about a quarter feel that way because they get no reward or recognition, and another 21% said they have no work-life balance.

You can tackle work-life balance by offering flexible working options in your company, and there are plenty of options when it comes to staff rewards.

You need to make sure you’re offering rewards that align with your business needs, and get to grips with what it is your team actually want.

Here we’ve put together a list of rewards that can work for individual and team recognition to give you some inspiration.

1. Equity

Well, we are Vestd and this is what we do. We believe that giving your team a stake in the company is the best way to keep them engaged and motivated to be successful.

When you give workers shares in the company, they become part of the story and have an interest in improving your bottom line.

At Vestd, we make managing the process easy and deal with all of the paperwork and tax reporting for you so you can focus on adding value through your great team.

Book a free consultation to find out more.

2. Manager for the day

Once you’ve bought your team in on company ownership, you can test them out in management too. As well as being a great way to recognise someone’s achievements, it’s a useful tool for career development.

Having one day a week or month where a colleague gets to swap roles with their supervisor can have a few different benefits.

First, there’s the recognition for that team member that you think they’re capable; second, you get to see how they perform in a higher role and whether they should be in line for promotion; and third, their manager going into the lower job role will keep the manager’s skills fresh and give them insight into their team’s function.

3. Extra leave

Sometimes known as the “Early Dart”, rewarding the top performer with an early finish can be a massive motivator.

Traditionally, this reward gets reserved for Friday afternoon but in today’s modern workplace you might want to offer the time whenever the winner wants it – a random Wednesday lie-in might be much more valuable than a Friday lunchtime finish.

4. Experiences

Instagram has a lot to answer for, and this includes the rise of experience spending. It’s reckoned that 78% of the millennial generation prefer to spend their money on experiences over things, so it’s worth planning some of this into your rewards budgets.

One of my colleagues was given a set of four tickets for Shakira in Manchester after a strong sales performance, another has been treated to hospitality tickets at a local football club.

These types of rewards keep the staff happy and also might mean you get a favourable mention in the social media posts, too.

5. Travel

This one can be a bit of a stretch on the budget, but if it’s recognising a truly great performance then it’s going to be worth it.

Whether you choose to offer travel vouchers for the winner to spend how they want, or book a full flight and hotel package from the company, you’re showing you're committed to your team’s wellbeing.

6. Away days

One for the team, there are loads of team activities you can send a group or even the whole office on. Myriad companies exist to offer team-building workshops and days, with options like

• Escape rooms
• Scavenger hunts
• Go-karting
• Laser tag
• Cooking classes

Pretty much anything can be made into a team activity and the day won’t feel like work.

7. Afternoon or evening meal

This is an oldie but a goodie and can help build a sense of team spirit, especially if your company is growing a lot and has quite a few new faces showing up. A lunch will keep things a little bit more business, and will also mean that everyone will be there since it’s during office hours.

An evening meal out can give things a chance to get boozy – you might want to think about some ground rules around alcohol. No one wants to be scared of turning up to work on Monday, and you don’t want to exclude people who can’t or don’t drink as well.

Look at your team and see what’s going to work best to build relationships and engage everyone.

8. Credit

Pretty much everything is app-based, from watching movies to ordering pizza and getting your place cleaned at the weekend. You can tap into your younger workforce by offering them perks related to things that value.

An annual Spotify or Netflix subscription has more than monetary value, and credit on to App Store or Play Store is going to show that you’re tuned in to the stuff they want.

Adding money on to someone’s Uber or Deliveroo account is going to go down a treat with your team.

9. Coffee morning

Imagine walking into the office with fresh brewed coffee and tea served at your desk, a selection of pastries wafted under your nose, and an assortment of cereal and granola ready to go. Sounds like a great start to the morning, and you can make this a reality for your office.

Maybe you’ve clinched the deal everyone has been working on, or a big order has landed, if everyone deserves a great morning you can easily set up your space to give a lovely start to the day.

Even your remote workers can get in on the act – schedule a morning video call and have coffee and croissants delivered to them just in time for the call to start.

10. Flowers and chocolates

A classic way to show your love, and not just for your partner. Sometimes keeping things simple is best and it’s a very visual and quick way to show appreciation.

It might be you want to keep things small, or your budget doesn’t stretch to fancy experiences and big gestures yet. It’s still worth letting your staff know that you care and value them outside of the salary you pay them.

Final thoughts

Most staff care about what you as their boss, and their colleagues, think about them more than they care about their salary. 

You can show the team that you care in many different ways, whether that’s bringing them in on company ownership, sending them to Paris for the weekend, or getting them a nicely wrapped box of chocolates.