Offices can be very chaotic and stressful just before Christmas, with everyone scrambling to get all of the work done before the festive break. This may leave you with no time to stop and reflect on the year’s successes, and to thank your hard-working team for all their efforts over the last 12 months.
With Christmas comfortably out of the way, the first weeks of the New Year can be the perfect time to reward, motivate and incentivise your team. Here are just a few ways you can say thank you…
Launch a new corporate rewards scheme
Sometimes, the occasional thank you gift isn’t quite enough to make your staff feel valued, motivated and enthusiastic. You may want to consider implementing a more comprehensive recognition and rewards scheme such as those provided by http://www.corporaterewards.co.uk/. These schemes can be hugely inspiring for employees, rewarding best behaviours and making the people most valuable to your business want to stick around.
Hold an employee awards ceremony
It may seem superficial, but most people really do like to win prizes. This is especially true for those who have worked very hard on a particular project in the run-up to Christmas and feel that nobody has noticed. Put together a number of categories and choose the winners yourself based on feedback from your management team, then hold a party to announce the winners. Your employees will love the occasion as well as the chance to be recognised for their hard work.
Put new sales targets and prizes in place
Sales professionals love challenges and targets, so your reward to them this January is to give them a shiny new prize to aim for. Set new targets and attractive prizes for those that achieve them. This will motivate your team, give them a personal reward and of course – help to boost your sales figures for the new year.
Implement feedback
Staff like to feel that they have been listened to and their feedback taken on board. The start of the new year is the perfect time to ask for thoughts, opinions and suggestions from your team, on everything from workplace practices to the systems and processes used to do the work itself. Take these ideas seriously and aim to implement at least a handful, giving special mention to the staff that suggested them. If some ideas aren’t financially or practically viable to do right away, let your team know that you’re considering ways in which you can implement their suggestion in the future. This is a golden opportunity to say to your team – ‘you’ve given us your feedback, and we have listened’.
Throw a party
Didn’t get round to having an office Christmas party in December? Many firms do it in January when there is less of a rush to get everything organised, and it can be cheaper and quieter too. This is also a good chance to get everyone enthused about the year ahead, as well as to say thank you for their efforts in the previous year.