How can you recognize and reward team members effectively?

2 What to recognize and reward

Recognition and reward should be aligned with your team's objectives, expectations, and performance indicators. You should recognize and reward both individual and collective achievements, as well as behaviors and attitudes that support your team's vision and values. For instance, closing a deal or winning a client, delivering a high-quality pitch or presentation, exceeding a target or milestone, solving a problem or overcoming a challenge, demonstrating leadership or initiative, collaborating or supporting others, learning a new skill or improving an existing one, showing creativity or innovation, receiving positive feedback or recognition from clients or stakeholders, and upholding ethical or professional standards are all worthy of recognition and reward.

3 How to recognize and reward

Recognition and reward should be timely, specific, and sincere. Express your gratitude and respect genuinely and personally as soon as your team members achieve or demonstrate something worthy of appreciation. Explain clearly what they did and why it matters. To recognize and reward your team members, you can say thank you verbally or in writing, in private or in public, depending on the preference and impact of the team member. You can also give feedback or testimonials that highlight their strengths, skills, and accomplishments. Offer them opportunities for career development such as mentoring, coaching, training, or promotion. Provide incentives or bonuses that reflect their performance and value like cash, equity, or perks. Celebrate successes and milestones with the whole team by hosting a party, a dinner, or a trip. Create a culture of recognition and reward where team members are encouraged to appreciate and acknowledge each other.

4 What to avoid

Recognition and reward can be detrimental if not done properly. To avoid undermining your team's motivation, trust, and cohesion, avoid recognizing and rewarding only the top performers or the most visible roles and disregarding the efforts or processes that led to them. Additionally, ensure that recognition and reward is consistent and appropriate, so as to not create confusion or frustration among team members or diminish the meaning of recognition or reward. Furthermore, make sure that recognition and reward is done in a sensitive manner, so as not to offend or hurt any team members or others.

5 How to measure and improve

Recognition and reward are not one-time events, but should be regularly evaluated and improved. You should measure and improve your recognition and reward practices by setting SMART criteria and standards, gathering feedback from team members, tracking outcomes and impacts, experimenting with different types and methods of recognition and reward, and reviewing your policies and procedures to ensure they are fair, transparent, and consistent. Doing so will help you understand what works best for your team in terms of recognition and reward.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?