After creating and launching your employee recognition program, you want to see it succeed and positively impact your company. This is where tracking and measuring ROI comes into play. There are many ways to measure your program’s ROI, but it is up to you to decide what exactly you would like to measure.
We are going to take a look at a few different things:
- Why It’s Important To Measure Your Recognition and Reward Program
- What Metrics To Track
- Strategies for Effective Tracking
Why It’s Important To Measure Your Recognition and Reward Program
When you have spent time and money putting a program together, it’s important to ensure it works the way you want it to. By regularly tracking your metrics, you can see what is working and what could use a little tweaking. This allows you to make regular changes that maximize your program’s effectiveness. Tracking and measuring the outcomes and metrics of your program also allows you to show your employees the impact they have made by engaging with it, encouraging continued participation. Effective measurement ensures that your employee recognition program supports your organization’s objectives, whether it is improving retention rates, increasing productivity, or boosting employee engagement.
What Metrics To Track
The metrics you track will depend on your organization and what you deem important to monitor. Here are a few that could be essential to ensure you are getting the most out of your program:
- Participation Rate
Track how many of your employees are actively participating in your program and see what parts of your program are gaining a lot of engagement and which parts are lacking. Conduct surveys or questionnaires to get feedback to learn where your program can improve from the people who use it the most, your employees.
- Retention Rate
Monitor turnover rates to see if recognizing your employees and offering them rewards that align with their interests plays a part in retaining them. If someone is putting time and effort into their work and they aren’t getting any recognition, it can be very upsetting and can make them think that there is no need to work as hard. However, if they see that their work is being noticed and appreciated, that is a motivating factor to continue to produce their best work.
- Reward Redemption Rate
You want to know that the rewards you are offering to your employees are something they want to work towards, so it is important to know whether your rewards are aligning with their interests. If you aren’t seeing a lot of employees redeem their rewards, it could be time to revamp your rewards catalog to offer more enticing rewards. Having an exciting and enticing rewards catalog is a catalyst for higher retention and participation rates because it shows your employees that you take what they care about and what they want to work towards into consideration.
- Productivity
When people see that they are being rewarded for their work, they are often more motivated to be more productive. Analyze your performance data to see if your employees who are being recognized for their accomplishments are showing an increase in productivity.
- Employee Satisfaction
This is one of the most important metrics, and you can compare satisfaction survey results from before and after your employee recognition program was in place. Happy employees produce great results!
Strategies for Effective Tracking
- Set Clear Objectives
To get the best results when it comes to tracking your program, it is important to set out clear objectives from the beginning. If you don’t go into it knowing what you are tracking, then it is harder to understand the data you are gathering. Are you looking to increase employee engagement? Employee retention? Employee learning and development? Start by defining what success looks like for your program, and that will help you stay focused on what matters most.
- Utilize Technology
Your brand doesn’t have to implement the most high-tech or advanced recognition program to see the best results. If you are going to take the time to create this program, it’s important that you can understand the impact it is having on your company. Ensure your program can offer dynamic analytics and data reporting so you can get an inside look at your employees' behavior and habits. But it is important that you take the time to build this program and seamlessly integrate it into your system in order for you and your employees to get the most out of it.
- Regularly Review and Analyze
The metrics and data you are gathering are only useful if you use what you have learned and make appropriate changes. With these reviews, you can see what needs to be adjusted or what is really drawing in your employees’ attention. Take a look at which rewards are most popular and what could be taken off your catalog. Add additional ways to earn points for desired behaviors and results. Keep the program fresh! These regular reviews ensure that your program is staying up to date and relevant with your employees’ interests and is still motivating them.
- Communicate Your Results
It is important to share the results that you find with your employees to show them all they have achieved and how their productivity has risen since the program was introduced. People like positive reinforcement, and when you are transparent, it shows your employees that you are committed to providing them the best program to reward and recognize them.
Measuring the ROI of your employee recognition program isn’t just about seeing if you are getting the monetary value back, but about seeing the actual influence it has on your employees and their workplace culture. Take the time to invest in a well-rounded program that works with your brand and watch as your organization and employees succeed. The more effort you put into making your program the best it can be for your employees, the more you are going to get out of it in the end.