Gone are the days when working from a central office was the norm. In today’s workforce, teams are remote, WFH-ing, and catching up through video chats. And with these distributed and ever-changing teams comes the need for revamped workplace practices. That’s especially true when it comes to employee rewards.
When dealing with a distributed team, organizations must adapt their approach to employee rewards. Because employees who are working from everywhere can definitely still benefit from employee rewards, and when they’re leveraged properly, they can actually help these employees stay engaged and motivated.
But distributed employees are certainly not going to hear about your latest and greatest reward effort during watercooler talk. And it’s very likely your reminder emails are sitting there collecting dust.
Here’s everything you need to know about employee rewards for a distributed team, and why they have the power to transform the way your team works.
Do Employee Rewards Make a Difference?
Employee rewards have been part of employee motivation and recognition for a pretty long time, but are they still relevant? The short answer is yes, they are still relevant, and they might be more critical than ever before, particularly for dispersed teams. In order to understand why, we have to take a close look at what today’s employees are like.
Today’s workforce is unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, less than 6% of Americans worked from home. And while the numbers have leveled out since their peak during the pandemic, research finds that remote work is still up four-to fivefold from its pre-pandemic levels.
So yes, a good portion of today’s workforce is distributed, meaning that they’re working remotely from different places. And the truth is that these distributed teams need special considerations for many things. In some cases, they may even face different obstacles than their in-office counterparts.
For example, some studies show that distributed employees can be far less engaged than employees who are in the office. This employee disengagement can be not only unfortunate for the employees, but extremely costly for organizations. Data tells us that employee disengagement costs US employers about $500 billion every year. Also, it’s important to note that employee disengagement can lead to turnover, and that when teams are engaged, they have far less turnover than other organizations.
What do employee rewards have to do with all of this? As it turns out, employee rewards can be an excellent cure-all for many of the maladies that can plague distributed teams. 86% of employees say that recognition in the workplace (through initiatives such as reward programs) improves their “experience, relationships, engagement, and happiness.” Reward programs can also bring a whole host of other potential benefits to dispersed workforces (which we’ll dive into in the next section).
The Nitty Gritty: How Employee Rewards Benefit Distributed Teams
There are several ways that employee rewards directly benefit distributed teams. Keep in mind, there are almost endless ways that employee rewards can manifest. It might look like employee recognition (public or private), discounts to local businesses, game-day tickets, or rewards for sales goals.
With that in mind, here are some of the top benefits of employee rewards for distributed teams:
- They boost engagement: When your employees are dispersed, you never really know what they’re getting up to during the workday. They might be dozing off, online shopping, or watching TV for all you know. But with employee rewards, your team is going to be engaged and motivated to get the job done right, and to really show up every day. Data tells us that when there are recognition programs in an organization, employee productivity, performance, and employee engagement are 14% higher than in those without. Plus, one survey found that almost 80% of millennials would be more loyal to their employer if there was an increase in rewards.
- They can drive participation: Ever been on a video chat meet where all you hear is crickets? With distributed teams, it can sometimes be tough to drive participation. But with employee reward systems, you can come up with creative and valuable ways to motivate your team members to participate in anything, whether it’s sales efforts or fitness goals.
- They make your employees want to stick around: Employees want to feel valued, and when they’re appreciated and rewarded for their work, they’re less likely to want to leave your organization. Studies tell us that an employee who has been recognized is 63% more likely to want to stay in their job, while additional data reveals that “employees who feel underappreciated are twice as likely to quit within the next year.”
- Rewards programs are made for the modern workforce: Your dispersed employees aren’t bumping into one another in the hallways, and managers can’t stop by their desk to say hello. But today’s platforms for employee rewards programs are digital, and designed with a remote workforce in mind. This means that they can stay connected, engaged, and up-to-speed at the touch of a button.
For example, when teams use Refresh, they have a one-stop-shop where they can stay connected with their company and with their team members. There they can find details about employee discounts and perks, including exclusive offers at local retailers, rewards for sales goals, and challenges to drive participation.
- They actually get put to work (when they’re delivered the right way): There are many challenges that distributed teams can face, but one of the most notable is communication. Data tells us that 33% of respondents of one survey say that poor communication is their greatest challenge to their virtual team. And it makes sense why: there are a lot of things working against you when it comes to communication, like laggy wifi, missed calls, and the fact that most of your remote employees are working alone in a room.
This all means that even communication around employee rewards needs special consideration. It’s all-too-easy for them to miss the memo, send an email to the trash, and forget about a reward altogether, simply because they’re working from elsewhere. So when employee rewards are packaged in the form of a platform that’s specifically designed for workers like them, they’re far more likely to actually get used.
What About Deskless Workers?
If you have deskless workers on your distributed team listen up, this one’s for you. Your deskless employees (or the ones who don’t sit around at a desk or central office) are even more particular when it comes to employee rewards. They’re definitely not going to be checking posters by the water cooler, and they’re even less likely to check their emails. In fact, they’re notoriously hard to connect with, as far as organizations are concerned. That’s because these employees are most often in the field, and are typically doing customer-facing work. Research tells us they often don’t have a corporate email address, and don’t have access to your org’s intranet while they’re working.
But for these employees, rewards are just as important as they are for other workers. The tricky thing is that companies likely need to take particular steps to reach these employees.
An excellent way to do so is with a handy employee communication tool, which is mobile-first. These tools (like Refresh) are built for your employees on the go, and they’re user-friendly (making them perfect even for employees who aren’t used to corporate tools). Employee communication tools are also customizable, meaning that you can include modules that your team will actually use (like rewards).
Aside from rewards, these tools are generally handy for deskless workers. They’ll be far less likely to miss key messages and communications, and leaders will be able to easily swiftly employees in-platform (instead of fussing around for individual cell phone numbers).
Distributed Teams Dig Employee Rewards (When They Can Actually Access Them)
By now, we hope your interest is piqued. Yes, distributed teams really benefit from employee rewards, and these perks can help your team become more engaged, and even more loyal to their jobs. Employee rewards also can reduce some of the “bad” stuff, like employee turnover.
But the trick to mastering employee rewards is organizing and distributing them in a way that makes sense.
That’s where Refresh comes in. We’re an all-in-one app that engages with your company’s entire benefits ecosystem. Refresh is universally integrated and completely modular, meaning you can customize it to meet your needs. Teams love it for the way it approaches employee rewards, and it’s specifically designed to meet the needs of dispersed and deskless teams.
Interested in learning more about how Refresh can transform the way your employees interact and use their benefits? Schedule a demo with us today.