Even a well-executed employee reward system probably won’t be enough to compensate for frozen salaries and toxic work environments. But it can give you some ammo when you need your team members to go above and beyond.
Every manager has projects and moments that require help from an employee that’s outside the scope of their normal, day-to-day job. What then?
The normal benefits your team receives through your employee reward system are probably enough to keep them enthusiastic and motivated about their own work. However, they may not be willing to volunteer for that extra task, no matter how easy it is, without further incentive. Offering additional points or rewards can be just the push they need.
Here are three scenarios where an employee reward system can help you get that little extra from your team.
READ MORE: Empower Every Department to Reward Employees With Gift Card Incentives
Whether you work at a software company or a government contractor, your technical subject-matter experts (SMEs) are usually the brains of the operation. Your business development, sales, and/or marketing teams may not know the inner workings of all your products and services and often rely on higher-level messaging and value propositions. But in certain circumstances, such as submitting a formal proposal for work, the technical details need to be included.
The problem is, the people who know the technical details have their own full-time jobs, sometimes for external clients. They may even have to work after-hours to help with business development proposals or attend sales meetings. By letting them know that they’ll be rewarded through the employee reward system for their contributions, you make it more likely that they’ll agree and be timely.
Going to conferences and trade shows is part of the job for some salespeople and marketers, but even so, it does require a lot of extra effort. Yes, the company pays for the ticket, travel, and hotel costs, but the team members still have to devote several days to the event, often getting behind on their own work. Not to mention that they might be away from their family, possibly dealing with extra child care costs or burden with one parent gone.
On top of all that, manning a booth for two or three days straight can be an exhausting experience — hours on your feet, sometimes meeting with prospects or clients after the exhibit hall closes, team dinners, conference social events, etc. It’s a nice gesture to use your employee reward system to recognize those colleagues who attended and made your event a success.
Let’s face it: In most team structures, especially those at B2B companies, it’s the sales or client success teams that have the ongoing relationship with your customers. Marketers need access to those customers to produce case studies that help them engage with prospects, but they need help from the people with the relationships to identify the most compelling stories and make introductions. Account managers have little in the game for case studies, since they’re usually not involved in landing new deals. They may also worry about spoiling their good relationships by asking too much of their loyal customers.
That’s where an employee reward system comes in. Give your sales and client success colleagues an incentive to regularly evaluate the accounts they manage and help facilitate conversations with anyone who could make a good case study. They get a reward, the customer gets some free publicity, and the marketer gets a case study to use in future ads and campaigns.
Want to know more about what your employees are looking for in an employee reward system? Download our latest Employee Incentives Report from NAPCO Research!
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
