Should you offer employee rewards based on team or individual achievements? There are a number of strong arguments behind both option.
When creating a rewards programme for your employees, you need to consider who you're rewarding and how. Many are faced with an important decision: should they opt to reward employees for individual or team achievements? The answer is, it's best to do both! Here's why.
The modern workplace is all about collaboration.
Why you should reward the team
The modern workplace is all about collaboration - indeed it's become central to many prominent organisations' values. If you promote collaboration at your business, it's important you are seen to reward teams which go the extra mile to achieve their goals. Otherwise, your employees run the risk of viewing your organisation's commitment to teamwork as simply words, rather than something you actually believe in.
In addition, offering team rewards also has a significant effect on workplace morale. When you offer a team reward for achieving a particular collective aim, you encourage each individual in that group to get behind a common goal. This will encourage them to work harder (they do not want to be seen as the one to let the side down) and communicate better because they all share the same vision. When they eventually win that award, they will be able to celebrate together and feel a shared sense of achievement, which in turn will help to boost morale across the wider organisation.
Each person contributes to a wider whole, and it's essential you recognise those who have gone above and beyond in helping their team.
Why you should also reward the individual
However, individual achievement is still important. Each person contributes to a wider whole, and it's essential you recognise those who have gone above and beyond in helping their team achieve the targets you have set. You can still link individual achievement back to employee collaboration by emphasising how their own personal efforts have had a positive impact on the accomplishments of the wider team and business as a whole.
In addition, rewarding individuals as well as teams will help to reduce the possibility that one or two employees may coast through and not pull their weight. It will help to set an example to others that the efforts of individuals who work extremely hard and go the extra mile will still be seen and recognised by their bosses.
Managers can also use individual rewards to help with those who are under or over-performing. For example, offering incremental rewards that get better as the employee improves and can achieve more will help to create manageable steps for development. Meanwhile, managers can use a special incentive scheme for someone who finds achieving their team target easy and who needs to be pushed further to reach their full potential.
Introducing an Employee Rewards and Recognition Programme with Power2Motivate
At Power2Motivate, we have a number of different rewards programmes that allow businesses to offer prizes for both individual and team achievement. Meanwhile, our Employee Rewards and Recognition Programme allows peer-to-peer nominations for awards, helping to boost morale and team spirit across your organisation.
Employees can choose their own prizes from our extensive global rewards gallery, which features thousands of different options. From travel and events to electronics and household appliances, there's something to suit every team member!
For more information, reach out to Power2Motivate today or request a demo.