Keep staff happy through rewards

Employers are increasingly offering their workers incentives and performance-based rewards in a bid to retain their services.

The ease and fluidity with which employees can move from jobs has meant retaining staff is now at the forefront of the jobs market.

Angela Dillon, managing director at incentives agency Ad+INC, said the benefits of acknowledging the efforts of employees must not be underestimated.

"With the tight job market at the moment, employees can jump from company to company, so you need something a bit more," she said.

"By rewarding for performance, you can create sticky employees, make them feel a needed part of the business, and increase productivity along the way," she said.

A recent survey of 500 small and medium businesses, conducted by Ad+INC, found that when it comes to the corporate sector, there was a large disconnect between knowledge and action.

The findings revealed that while 88 per cent of businesses recognised the advantages of rewarding employees, only 52 per cent actually followed through and offered incentives to workers.

Ms Dillon says that the key to motivating staff is offering a rewards program which can be customised according to people's age and interests.

"What we find is that unless you can tailor it to their needs, you don't get their attention at the start of the program and it's not going to work for you," she said.

Ms Dillon said while older employees prefer family experiences and dream of upgrading their entertainment systems, their younger counterparts are motivated in other ways.

"Generation Y want Nintendos, iPods and the latest mobile phones with all the features, but the biggest thing they like, and it cuts across all demographics, is offering variety and choice," she said.

This is echoed by Julie Mills, CEO of Recruitment and Consulting Services Association.

Ms Mills says considering turnover in the on-hire industry stands at a record 43 per cent, flexibility, training opportunities and career progression can be used to retain staff.

However, she is quick to advise that corporate rewards programs were not the be-all and end-all in retaining staff and raising morale.

"Whilst including a mix of fixed pay and incentives is one way to motivate employees, it's important for employers to remember that no amount of time spent on developing clever incentives will make up for good staff management, effective training and ongoing communication," she said.

By Miawling Lam,The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday 12, August 2007.