12 May 2021

Mental Health Awareness Week: The power of Reward and Recognition

6 ways to recharge, revitalise and energise tired colleagues

Seven out of ten employees say Covid-19 has been the most stressful time of their professional career, while 51% say their mental health has worsened. Even if it wasn’t Mental Health Awareness Week this week, one thing’s clear: employees need a boost!

Want to help your workforce get their mojo back? Then reviewing your Reward & Recognition offer is a great place to start. Two of the top reasons employees feel demotivated are 1) Feeling undervalued (43%) 2) Lack of recognition (40%).

Here are 6 ways to use your R&R programme to help make your people feel more positive, connected and mentally healthy. 

  1. Make it personal

It’s not just pay and bonuses that your employees value. A recent report from Aon shows how much the digital age has increased the value we place on benefits. Try using a survey to find out what your total reward package really means to each person. Take the time to segment your workforce and provide a personalised approach.

  1. Focus on fun

For lots of people, the pandemic sucked the joy out of working, instantly taking away office lunches, awaydays etc. R&R schemes are a great way to inject energy, creativity and fun back into colleagues’ working lives. Make sure your ideas are rooted in your values to help re-ignite your company culture. 

  1. Find your purpose

People who have meaning in their lives are more likely to feel physically and mentally healthy. Use your R&R comms to help provide that meaning. Join the dots between what your employees are doing, the reward/recognition they receive, and your company’s overall purpose.

  1. Use peer-to-peer recognition

The pandemic means lots of people are still working from home. But remote workers often miss out on all those small moments of gratitude that happen in the office. Luckily, there are lots of digital options: eCards, digital ‘thank you’ walls, animated gifs and ‘one-click’ recognition buttons are simple but effective tools. 

  1. Tell people

Colleagues won’t feel the value of your benefits, if they don’t know about them. But a whopping 41% of businesses don’t regularly communicate with their employees about the benefits available. Something as simple as a seasonal calendar of activity can be really helpful in keeping benefits relevant and boosting take-up.

  1. Choose easy-access

Do your colleagues feel in control of their R&R package? Can they change certain elements if their life changes? Feeling in control is an important part of mental health.  So make it easy for your employees to access the benefits on offer with an online portal. Reward Gateway’s employee engagement platform SmartHub is a great starting point.

Ready to review your Reward & Recognition programme?

We’ve got lots of ideas, inspiration and best practice to share. Contact Lucy McKerron for a chat and let’s review your approach.

 

 

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