Money still what workers like best

By Deborah Willoughby
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser

When you reward your employees for exceptional performance, remember two words: Money talks.

Employees say healthy raises, cash bonuses or gift certificates are the best ways to deliver the message that their work is appreciated.

Frances Nelson, media director for Davenport Moorhead ad agency in Montgomery, Ala., said National Secretary's Day once meant taking the office staff to lunch, but the agency since has switched to a better way of showing appreciation for staffers' work.

"We give them gift certificates to the Parisian (department store)," Nelson said. "They get to choose something they like for themselves. That works great."

But some years, employers can't afford raises, bonuses or gift certificates, despite their desire to do so. For times like that, business consultants have devised ideas for recognizing workers' achievements without spending money that businesses can't spare.

A recent Mercer Human Resource Consulting survey showed that most employers were unable to award raises in 2003 that kept pace with inflation or to hand out bonuses as high as they had been in preceding years.

The No. 1 rule for years when money is tight: Build trust. If you, as a business owner, announce that you can't afford to give raises or bonuses this year, it probably wouldn't be smart to roll up to the office in a new luxury car. It's difficult to regain the loyalty of your employees once it is lost.

Here are some inexpensive ways to honor your employees' exceptional work:

1. Have the company president deliver a note of appreciation that will go into personnel files.
2. Hand out awards, certificates, plaques or engraved paperweights. For most workers, these items would be better if accompanied by a gift certificate or check, but if it's a sincere reward, the thought does count.
3. Bring in doughnuts or bake a pie to share at work.
4. Offer an extra day off, or end the day an hour early sometime.
5. Call attention to good work in the company newsletter, perhaps with an employee-of-the-month recognition.
6. Look at expanding your company's benefits package in ways that don't cost as much as across-the-board raises. Maybe you can offer more flexible hours, an educational benefit, a reduced membership fee at a health club or even a regular casual-dress day.
7. Think about what rewards meant the most to you as you were climbing the ladder, and ask employees what types of honors are most appealing to them.