By Jeremy Lewitzke
Management Services Committee Member
L&S Electric, Inc.
Schofield, Wisconsin 

In today’s workplace, our people look for more than just a paycheck—they value recognition that fits with their unique, individual preferences. From generational differences to geographical norms, revamping your employee reward system to shift away from a standardized approach to a more personalized model that offers a variety of options can make a big difference in engagement.

Our company has historically rewarded employees with a one-size-fits-all incentive, such as a specific gift for reaching years of service milestones or a small selection of company-branded items for going above and beyond. However, feedback revealed that a single reward did not resonate with everyone. Employees preferred flexibility in choosing their gifts, while others valued extra time off or educational opportunities. To address this, we focused on implementing a flexible rewards program where we empowered employees to choose what truly motivates them.

The new employee rewards system includes access to a simple platform that allows managers to send points to employees for birthdays, work anniversaries and going above and beyond in their respective role. The employee can then use the points to purchase anything that fits their needs. This includes any item an employee can find from large online retailers, but the platform still includes branded clothing that is part of our unique culture.

These smaller rewards are impactful, but even more meaningful to the modern workforce is flexibility in total compensation, including the balance of wages, time off, health benefits and non-traditional benefits including wellness and volunteering. Our company focuses on keeping the total value of their benefits at a specific dollar amount, but we add the flexibility of choosing where the benefits go, which creates a huge engagement benefit.

By embracing flexibility in rewards, even though it can create additional set up on the front end, companies can see engagement grow far beyond a one-size-fits-all approach.

Categories: Technical topics, Miscellaneous

Tags: Human resources

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