In 2018, only 32% of US workers reported they were engaged in their jobs (Source: Gallup), which means there’s a good chance this is affecting employee productivity. We’ve identified three reasons why employees aren’t engaged with existing rewards programs—and three solutions that are easier to implement than you think.

Problem: Employees Feel Out of the Loop

Seek employee feedback. Gathering feedback is a great way to engage employees by giving them an avenue to express their concerns and ideas. Then you can consider that input while planning for the company’s future. But how do you gather this feedback? You ask questions.

TINYPulse is a great engagement platform that sends out a periodical question for employees to answer anonymously. By offering relevant and anonymous surveys, you can gather real-time feedback to track employee trends and address common concerns. Collecting and following through on feedback says a lot about commitment to employee happiness.

Consistent one-on-one meetings with employees is also an easy-to-implement, non-tech solution that offers employees a regular outlet to discuss relevant concerns in a private setting.

Problem: Employees Don’t Feel Appreciated

Recognize and reward employees, including providing bulk gifts for employees. Encouraging recognition and rewards to flow from manager to employee and peer to peer is a tried and true strategy for making employees feel valuable as well as promoting a happier and more collaborative workplace. The best part is that this can be done in a simple and cost-effective manner, depending on your needs.

• Choose to do it yourself with a digital gift card provider like Tango Card.
• Give everyone a small budget.
• Allow employees to reward one another with small e-gift cards to say “thanks!” or “good job.”

You can also sign up for a simple social-recognition platform, such as:

• Nectar
• YouEarnedIt
• Kudos
• Bonusly

These apps enable employees to recognize and reward each other on a common social stream. Given the digital nature of the platform and the rewards, recognition can happen in real time. This makes it possible to bring managers and employees together across multiple offices and departments.

Problem: Healthy Habits Aren’t Incentivized

Incentivize employees to make healthy choices. Collecting feedback shows employees you care and recognizing employees makes them feel valuable, but many employers fail to acknowledge the importance encouraging healthy habits plays in overall employee engagement and productivity at work. According to a recent article by Forbes, implementing a health and wellness program has been shown to improve employees’:

• Physical health
• Mental health
• Financial health
• Emotional health
• Overall happiness

There are some excellent software choices available to help implement and manage an ongoing health and wellness program. Check out platforms here: Health and Wellness—A Shifting Industry.

Click here to learn how Rewards Genius can help you increase employee engagement with digital rewards.

This was originally posted on June 7, 2018.

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