When Susan was a manager for the big tech company in town she had a great team. Everyone was motivated and seemed excited to be at work. They were always learning, working on new projects and excelling. There were always celebrations after a job well done and plenty of encouragement.
 
But since starting her own business five years ago, she’s struggled to create the same atmosphere. A lot of Susan’s employees are quitting, her sales are down this quarter and some people seem to actually hate being in the office.
 
Susan wishes she could raise salaries, chat with her staff more and offer some fancy perks like at her old job, but as an entrepreneur with a family, the learning curve is steep. She just can’t find the time or money to give her team the recognition they deserve and need.
 
Having a strong recognition and reward program can be a challenge for small organizations. They may not have the money or find it practical to offer financial bonuses, job perks or expensive training. It may even be against the rules to do so for organizations that are financed through public funds or grants.
 
Although Susan isn’t real; her situation is...

According to The Globe & Mail, 89% of Canadian employees are prepared to leave their current job for the right offer—and the reasons go beyond just financial compensation. Recognition and reward contribute to ensuring business productivity and employee motivation and retention. In fact, they are defined in The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace as factors shown to impact the mental health of individuals in the workplace.
 
Guarding Minds at Work defines Recognition & Reward as “present in a work environment where there is appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation of employees’ efforts in a fair and timely manner. “
 
So, what’s the solution?
How can business owners and managers with limited resources create a stronger recognition and reward program to better acknowledge and appreciate their people?

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5 easy and thrifty ways to recognize and reward your staff

#1 - Create a plan
Start by creating a plan to regularly and formally recognize and reward your employees’ work. At least once a year sit down with each person to provide feedback and map out a growth and development plan. It doesn’t have to be complex. Acknowledge areas of strength, support and encourage them in areas that need development, figure out what they may need and want to learn, let them know about potential development opportunities, and brainstorm ways to make them happen within the confines of available resources.
 
A simple plan and regular chats will go a long way in making staff feel supported, valued, and hopeful.

#2 - Recognize good work
Say thanks and acknowledge a job well done in a timely manner. Recognize and give credit for extra effort, good ideas, innovation, professional and project milestones, and strong outcomes. This recognition can be given privately through casual words or a thank you note or acknowledged in a staff meeting or via a company-wide email or newsletter.
 
A few kind and encouraging words or a small token of appreciation will help people feel valued and encourage them to keep the momentum going.

#3 - Recognize and reward professional development initiatives and soft-skills
Your organization can still support growth and professional development even if it doesn’t have the funds to pay for extra training or conferences. Support that recognizes employees that take control of their learning includes flexible work hours, a quiet space to study in during off-duty hours or permitting staff to shift or trade work schedules to better accommodate continued education. Support that rewards their efforts includes acknowledgement and formal inclusion of achievements in their personnel file, or simple incentives such as a gift card for coffee or study supplies.
 
Keep an eye open for employees who try to learn new skills beyond job-related ones—things like learning a new technology, another language, developing interpersonal skills, and so on. Recognize their effort by acknowledging it and reward it by looking for opportunities to incorporate new skills in the workplace. For example, an employee who completes an online course in conflict resolution will be able to help solve staff problems. An employee who learns how to use graphics software could help to produce a job-aid.
 
The bottom line is that any skill that helps your staff better communicate and care for themselves and each is a positive thing and helps build an organizational culture that values learning and self-improvement. If your people are confident that you support their career as much as possible, they’ll be more committed to the organization and more likely to seek out and share opportunities for improvement.

#4 - Recognize and reward passions and skill sets
It is helpful for small organizations to create what’s known as a Skills Matrix. A Skills Matrix is a list of employees and their special skills and interests so that everyone is aware of who can and likes to do what. It’s a way to recognize that each employee is unique and brings more to the company than just their job-related skills. The Skills Matrix is helpful in allocating work according to their passions and strengths. For example, you may discover that someone has a passion for photography. How is that rewarded? They would likely jump at the opportunity to spend a few work hours taking photographs at work to help update the company website.
 
Allowing people to share their special interests and talents at work is a moral booster and a point of pride. It fosters an organizational culture that embraces openness, sharing, growth, and a respect for a diversity of interests. In 2015, Forbes business magazine observed that un-tapped abilities from employees emerge to become assets to corporate missions.

#5 - Recognize and reward each other
Encourage staff to recognize each other for good work. Ask them to give props to one another in meetings or to tell you privately so that you can ensure everyone receives the recognition they deserve. Also make time for team celebrations and fun activities after challenging projects and to mark important milestones.
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 Susan still has a chance to turn things around. She can take these step to build and nurture a culture of recognition across the organization to foster better teamwork, motivation, and to reduce conflict.
 
For more ideas about how to create a better reward and recognition program in your organization, check out the resources at  Guarding Minds at Work.
 
And, get on the "early adopters" list to be among the first to get access to the IncludeMe app — our free, fast, simple and innovative way for managers to learn about the importance of a mentally healthy workplace including actions you can take to positively impact your employees’ mental health. Just sign up below!

Blog post produced by Canadian mental health charity Iris the Dragon. Iris the Dragon is a solutions-oriented, social enterprise, employing proven and effective approaches and delivery formats to address the challenge of social inclusion of those with a mental illness in our society.

Almost every night Lewis comes home from work and spends at least half an hour venting to his wife about his job. He easily loses patience with his two young children and finds that he has trouble sleeping. In the morning, he feels down and reluctantly sets off to work again.

Lewis wishes he could feel motivated, but the last six months have been difficult because of constant changes in the workplace and a lack of direction from management. This has negatively affected how Lewis feels about his job. At first, there were discussions about the changes but lately, he hasn’t been given a lot of warning about anything. At anytime he could be told to stop working on a project, be re-assigned to another team, and even relocated to another desk in the building. He and his colleagues are often in conflict over workload and areas of responsibility. Lewis is confused about his role within the organization and it’s left him feeling unengaged. He knows his performance isn’t as good as it used to be but its hard to care when it feels like others aren’t really looking out for him.

Although Lewis isn’t real; his situation is for 32% of working Canadians.

According to an Ipsos survey commissioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, 16% of Canadians are not happy in their job. Like Lewis, 32% of respondents in the survey said clear leadership and expectations were a serious or significant concern in their workplace.

In fact, “Clear Leadership and Expectations” is one of 13 factors defined in The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace — factors shown to impact the mental health of individuals in the workplace.

Guarding Minds at Work defines clear leadership and expectations as “present in a work environment where there is effective leadership and support that helps employees know what they need to do, how their work contributes to the organization, and whether there are impending changes.“

The benefit to employers and employees
Workplaces with clear leadership and expectations ensure employees understand their responsibilities and their role within the organization and that they are prepared for change. Benefits from doing so range from:

• higher employee morale, resiliency and trust;
• less employee frustration and conflict;
• better job performance;
• fewer sick days; to
• higher employee retention.

3 steps towards clearer leadership and expectations
First, figure out what’s going on. Talk to staff and conduct a review. Find out if “clear leadership and expectations” is viewed by staff as a strength or a weakness within the organization. If it’s perceived as a strength, then brainstorm ways to protect and improve upon it. If it’s an area that’s lacking, Guarding Minds at Work offers many ideas—here's a summary:

1. Create regular opportunities for dialogue between staff and leaders. Providing time for open and effective communication is especially important during times of transition. Have regular meetings but do go beyond meetings. Check in with people informally; provide social and team-building opportunities; and use bulletin boards, intranet updates, and newsletters to keep people informed.
2. Ensure employees understand their role and responsibilities, and how their work contributes to the organization. This can be done through regular performance reviews with two-way feedback, clear instructions regarding not just work but also of expected behaviours, up-to-date and relevant job descriptions, and continual review of workloads to ensure balance and relevancy.
3. Train leaders. Provide new leaders with training in leaderships skills, communication, emotional intelligence and problem-solving. Ensure new leaders understand the organization’s culture and values so that they can pass them down. Also consider mentoring or job shadowing programs. 

 
The leadership at Lewis' company could still turn things around and reduce workplace stress by checking into the resources and tools at Guarding Minds at Work and by having all managers sign up for the new IncludeMe workplace mental health training app coming out this fall.

And you too can get on the "early adopters" list to be among the first to get access to the IncludeMe app  — our free, fast, simple and innovative way for managers to learn about the importance of a mentally healthy workplace and actions you can take to positively impact your employee’s mental health. Just sign up below!

Blog post produced by Canadian mental health charity Iris the Dragon. Iris the Dragon is a solutions-oriented, social enterprise, employing proven and effective approaches and delivery formats to address the challenge of social inclusion of those with a mental illness in our society.