This week is the conclusion of my review of The Hay Group’s white paper titled, Managing Reward Why Line Managers Are the Vital Link.
4. Communicate the total value of the organization’ reward program by using individualized total reward statements.
Reward statements can be prepared by your award program provider and either emailed or mailed directly to locations or participants. When I work on reward statements, I include the individual account information such as log in information and point history (total earned, total redeemed and total remaining). I have also prepared this information and sent to my clients so that the account summary can be entered into a mailed paystub or emailed along with the company newsletter.
If you are sending a full page reward program statement, it is also a good idea to make the statement double as an order form that can be emailed, faxed or mailed in to the provider. Certain clients of mine will include program updates or changes and I have also prepared statements to include a top ten list of participants with the most points achieved by reaching incentive goals. Many times this extra information is put on the back side of the total rewards statement instead of leaving it blank. Reward statements help to keep participants informed without them having to go out of their way potentially to track incentive program information.
5. Encourage line managers to make better use of the entire palette of an organization’s rewards including intangible rewards (eg career advancement opportunities, a great work climate and non-monetary recognition programs) to motivate employees.
The Hay Group mentions that reward programs help make it easier to recruit and retain staff. Additionally, the white paper points out organizations that are good at nurturing and developing talent and frequently promote from within pay as much as five percent less for their talent than other organizations. By having aformal recognition policy in place and helping line managers to understand how they can use it, you can motivate employees while reducing costs.
6. Make sure that HR provides line managers with the necessary tools and back-up to help them effectively communicate the benefits of the program to employees.
One of the best points in the white paper is that a reward program can only motivate employees if it is understood and accepted by them. Understanding an incentive program comes with communication and time. Acceptance comes when goals are relevant and clearly tied to the goals of the organization. Both understanding and acceptance are difficult to achieve unless line managers clearly support and utilize the reward program.
All six points in this white paper have an underlying theme: the way information is shared and collaborated on by different people within a single organization. The larger an organization, the more difficult it may be to disseminate information. However, by putting the time it takes to work with those who deal directly with employees, organizations will achieve a higher return on investment.
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