The best way to reward employees is to develop an atmosphere they enjoy and are proud to be part of. Each business is unique: some are large, unionized, multi billion corporations; some have only a handful of staff in remote parts of the country. What they all have in common is that their success is dependent on how passionate each and every employee is about the enterprise.

A company that celebrates employee successes, either in achieving a corporate goal or in an outside activities, creates an aura of community. A large corporation with recognition programs encourages employees to reach for new heights. Smaller companies can achieve similar results.

The working atmosphere is so important that successful companies invest heavily in this area. They equally build "atmosphere" into their operational priorities, and they weight and reward it appropriately in their performance measurement systems.

Team oriented companies create campuses that cater to reasonable employee needs. They provide things like good food at reasonable or no cost, fitness and sports facilities available to everyone, good benefits and salaries, special events to recognize excellence, a range of options to enhance work/life balance issues, and day care facilities. When a company exhibits genuine care for its employees, employees are happy to return that care with loyalty.

Monetary rewards are good, depending on how equitable they are distributed. It's more difficult, although not impossible, to apply in a unionized environment. Money can be divisive if it's seen to be selectively awarded. Employees react swiftly when they feel it is unfairly distributed.

Some companies have programs that reward all employees when certain corporate goals are achieved. These programs can be awkward if they are not seen to be completely transparent and objective. One company proposed a bonus to overcome revenue and cost deficiencies. When these were awarded the sales and operating executives discovered that the people being rewarded most had nothing to do with the results. The corporate lawyers, the chief medical officer, and the executive in charge of investor relationships, and a few others, received higher bonuses than the field operations people simply because the bonuses were awarded as a percentage of salary. What the company did was infuriate those who had achieved the results, and create a schism between the core business staff and those whose corporate functions had little or no impact on results. That large company destroyed its soul, and the spirit that brought it to a successful IPO. It was forced into bankruptcy within a few years, only to emerge as a mere shadow of its former self.

Employee share plans are usually not rewards. They are investment opportunities. In the early days these programs were seen as a way to increase employee commitment to the company, but the concept that employees could influence corporate affairs has been destroyed. Reality has sunk in that individual investors have absolutely no input to corporate decisions.

Ultimately though, money is not the best way to reward employees because it can bring such subjective responses. Money seems to bring the worst out of people, often creating jealousy and greed, to the detriment of the company. The best solution is that old corporate mentality, once the stuff of employee relations consultants, that something as simple as changing the lights can improve morale in the workplace. Fifty years later we've discovered whole ranges of simple things that make a rewarding difference to the atmosphere on the workplace.

Learn more about this author, Ian Buchanan.
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