Over the years, we have witnessed dynamic changes taking place in the labour market. The continuous growth of businesses leads to an increase in job opportunities, but also to intense competition amongst companies for skilled staff. Losing a competent team member can prove to be a major setback. The situation was further exacerbated by the pandemic of 2020–2022 and an economy based on a system of social benefits, entitlement to which is acquired upon meeting non-work-related criteria, or even the handout of money known as helicopter money. All these measures have an impact on the labour market.
Consequently, these leaders should do everything in their power to foster strong employee loyalty to the company and motivation to achieve goals. Contrary to what one might think, this is by no means an easy task. It is also often the case that the measures taken do not achieve the intended objectives.
Staff motivation
Measures aimed at forging a strong bond between a company and its employees, thereby ensuring that they remain with the company for the long term, are referred to in the literature by the English term employee experience management. This term refers to the implementation of targeted measures aimed at each employee individually, during the recruitment stage, the induction process, whilst the contract between the employer and the employee is in force, and also at the stage of terminating the employment relationship and changing employers. These activities involve joint efforts by the HR and IT departments. To achieve the goal of building effective teams, employers strive to recruit the best specialists on the market and to create positive employee experiences, modelled on the measures taken for end customers.
The aim of these measures is to ensure a positive working atmosphere for employees and to motivate them to perform their duties to the best of their ability. Of course, every employer has their own priorities they wish to achieve – some are keen to foster creativity amongst their staff, whilst others focus on ensuring their staff carry out all their tasks to perfection. Every company should carefully analyse its own needs and priorities in order to develop its own individual strategies. Many interesting studies and guides have been written on the subject discussed here. *Employee Experience Advantage* by Jacob Morgan and *Employee Experience* by Ben Whitter are just some of the most interesting titles on the market that are well worth reading.
Employee branding – that is, a company’s policy aimed at shaping a positive image of the employer in the eyes of its staff – is based precisely on creating the right conditions within the organisation, thanks to which employees will feel valued and enjoy the full respect of their colleagues and employer. Its aim is to foster employees’ intrinsic motivation by recognising their work, whether through financial rewards or non-monetary incentives. This will translate into an increase in their commitment to the company.
Staff retention. How can we retain our best employees?
First and foremost, the focus must be on building a strong relationship between manager and subordinate – between employee and employer. Rewards and public praise for a job well done play a key role here. It is also worth analysing what sort of benefits employees prefer. All the elements described contribute to increasing an employee’s motivation and productivity, whilst strengthening their loyalty to the company.
Loyalty schemes We mainly associate them with initiatives aimed at end consumers (B2C) and business partners (B2B). However, we are increasingly seeing them within various organisations, as schemes specifically aimed at employees. It is therefore worth investing in the implementation of your own employee incentive scheme, which will ensure loyalty and increased motivation within the team.
Does employee motivation make sense?
Rewarding staff is always highly motivating. Introducing an effective and cost-efficient staff incentive scheme is a simple way to boost team engagement. It is also worth introducing regular changes to the benefits on offer – or, to put it another way, the advantages employees derive from being part of the incentive scheme. In addition to cash rewards, introducing a points-based system also yields positive results. This gives employees the opportunity to choose their own reward, whilst strengthening and sustaining their commitment to the company. Currently, activities based on gamification and CSR, or corporate social responsibility.
What should employees in an incentive scheme be rewarded for? In fact, we can reward any employee activity that is crucial to the running of the business. Creative ideas, conscientious fulfilment of duties, punctuality, showing initiative, or exemplary attendance are just a few examples of what an employer might recognise. Of course, there are many more possibilities, and the range of criteria is effectively limitless. One might also consider introducing different point values for specific achievements and activities. However, before implementing such a scheme, the rules for earning and redeeming the points awarded must be clearly defined.
Summary
The modern labour market is extremely dynamic. Employers are looking for skilled staff who will carry out the duties entrusted to them reliably. It is worth investing in the creation of an internal incentive scheme, which will not only build strong employee loyalty but also increase their level of commitment to the company.
