Millennials and Employee Recognition
When your company is looking to hire virtual employees that are millennials, it is even more important to have a robust employee recognition program, as more than 50% of employees are millennials in every technology company. They are multi-taskers, critical thinkers, and visionaries who like to plan their career and go on a future path that is exciting.
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Intrinsic motivation results from the inner passion and desire of a virtual employee to do the work that appeals to them the most. Factors relating to intrinsic motivation include the type of work that the person is doing. Sometimes, the work is not in line with their skills and so they lose interest in it sooner or later. It is essential to know their preferences and assign such tasks to them that give them intrinsic motivation. The work should be such that it gives your virtual employee a chance to develop professionally and have a bright future.
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
A virtual employee needs an invigorating environment such as supportive team members and rewards programs, which create extrinsic motivation. Having a positive workplace is the first step towards extrinsic motivation. Having a good rewards program that not only recognizes but also gives monetary benefits to the best virtual employee goes a long way in motivating the employee.
To have an effective recognition program, there are some best practices that you must follow:
- Well Defined: Before rolling out the program for recognizing the best virtual employees, you must carefully go through their work schedules, job priorities, and skills to define the parameters for recognition.
- Equal Opportunity: Each one of your virtual employees must have an equal opportunity in participating for the recognition program. It should be inclusive, without any prejudices towards anybody, whether new or old.
- Wide Range: The recognition program should have a wide range of skill sets so that a majority of the virtual employees can enter the program and get recognized.
- Time-Bound: A rewards program that does not have regularity or timeliness is bound to fail. A virtual employee who has missed out on one opportunity should keep in mind that there would be a next program coming soon.
- Employee Appreciation: For all those who participated in the program but missed out on the recognition, they should also get an appreciation letter from the employer. The letter should enumerate their involvement and encourage them to keep trying.
- Customized Award: For those virtual employees who win the contest, there should be a customized reward such as a trophy, certificate, and letter of appreciation along with a cash reward.
- Social Recognition: A winning virtual employee should have their name prominently displayed on notice boards etc to announce their efforts to the whole team. This will give them immense social recognition.
- Build Morale: The winning virtual employee should interact with other members of the team and help in building their morale to do better.
- Skills Upgrade: The winning virtual employee should have the opportunity to upgrade their skills by way of company-sponsored training programs or in-house mentorship programs.
- Career Progression: Lastly, the winning virtual employee should have a detailed discussion with the management regarding their career progression and future prospects.
We all know that the recognition of virtual employees can go a long way in vitalizing your business processes. It is not an option but a must-have feature in your organization’s HR practices. With millennials joining the workforce, these programs have undergone a paradigm shift in terms of methodology and customization. When rightly done, they can save up to 75% of your employee turnover, according to various studies. Though this is not the only thing that keeps your virtual employees happy, it surely goes a long way in keeping your workforce motivated and happy.
Every human resource professional understands the importance of rewards and recognition methods, however, these programs have to be done with the right approach for optimum results. At Optimal Virtual Employee, we ensure that nobody is left behind when it comes to rewards and recognitions. Our virtual employees not only participate enthusiastically but also have a sense of pride in our rewards programs. To understand more about our HR practices, get in touch with us now and a representative will call you back.
