From Taco Trucks to Trips: Creative Ways to Reward Employees

Great employee performance can show up in many ways, from exceeding production goals to displaying true teamwork and consistency. Choosing to recognize these team members for making a positive impact not only shows your appreciation, but it can also boost employee morale and retention.  

The key to effectively rewarding your staff members isn’t selecting one type of recognition, but taking the time to determine what would mean the most to that employee. Also, the nature of the accomplishment can dictate the type of reward as well.

“The more personal you can make recognition, the more memorable it becomes,” says Amy Snyder, director of public relations at Ruppert Landscape, based in Laytonsville, Maryland.

Don’t Discount Small, Spontaneous Gestures

You don’t necessarily need a formal recognition program or an elaborate awards banquet to tell your employees you appreciate their individual efforts.

Snyder says some of the most meaningful recognition happens in the everyday moments during a branch meeting, after a challenging project, following positive customer feedback, or simply when a manager sees someone going above and beyond.

“Some of the things employees remember the longest are a heartfelt thank-you from their manager or a senior leader, being recognized in front of their family and peers, or hearing someone tell the story of what they contributed,” Snyder says.

Dan Waters, owner of Creative Environments, based in Tempe, Arizona, says he will randomly reward employees with gift cards of different amounts when a client mentions how they’ve gone above and beyond.

“It might be $50, might be $100, depends on how much the impact,” Waters says. “It could be $500, whatever the impact was. Not just a thank you, but a little cash that goes with it and the recognition to continue saying thank you for doing a great job.”

Waters cautions that when recognition becomes too regular, it becomes expected by the team regardless of their performance. Instead, he will spontaneously have a taco truck visit from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and provide all-you-can-eat tacos, or have an ice cream truck serve up 31 flavors when the team has performed well.

When Creative Environments has tickets available for a sporting event, Waters also makes a point to give them to individuals in the company he feels would be most touched by the gesture.

“I feel personalizing that gratitude to that individual randomly is more important than the ‘I expected to get my bonus this week,’” Waters says.

Make Milestone Celebrations Meaningful

While employee performance should be recognized, so should team members’ long-term commitment to your organization.

At Creative Environments’ Christmas parties, they celebrate team members’ loyalty to the company by doing prize drawings, which include a trip for two anywhere in the United States, tickets to a football game, or the concert of their choice with limousine service to and from a dinner anywhere they want in the state.

Everyone on staff gets a prize and those with longer tenures have different prize categories.

“It’s not you’ve been here for a year, and you can go anywhere in the U.S,” Waters says. “That doesn’t go in year one. That goes in like year eight and plus. So the higher-end prizes are just fun things, and they all use them. So just constantly looking for different ways to reach out and celebrate and say thank you.”

Snyder says when they recognize an employee’s significant years of service, they make a point to celebrate their impact and story with the company.

“Longevity means something to us, and when someone has spent a significant portion of their career helping build the company, we want the celebration to reflect the relationships, experiences, and memories they’ve built along the way,” Snyder says.

Treat Team Members to Experiences They Wouldn’t Buy for Themselves

One notable way Waters goes about rewarding his sales team for reaching their goals is to take them on trips with fun experiences their team has never done before. He says they have continued to raise their sales goal year after year, and the team continues to smash them. Creative Environments has taken their sales team everywhere from New York and Miami to Costa Rica.   

“Wherever we go, wherever we stay, we look for different experiences that really make great memories,” Waters says.

Waters says the trips also include a plus one so their employees can bring their spouse or a loved one. He adds that not only do these trips allow him to reward his employees, but he is also able to spend quality time with them.

He adds that when his team receives five-star experiences themselves, they have a better understanding of what Creative Environments’ clients expect.

“They start to realize, ‘Wow, this is service. This is living. This is what our clients expect, and what we should expect to do,’” Waters says.

Waters has found offering these once-in-a-lifetime experiences resonates with their employees the most. One long-term employee he sent to Italy with a private driver and private tours of landmarks like the Colosseum.

Waters says he chooses to offer these experiences as a thank you to his employees, as it is one way Creative Environments can stand out.

“These people are working hard for me and my customers,” Waters says. “If I’m going to be cheap and not recognize them, not take care of them, not give back where we can, the return will not come back to me. My wife and I feel very strongly about taking very, very good care of our team in every way we can.”

While you may not have the budget to be as extravagant as Creative Environments, you can learn what your team members would love to experience but won’t purchase for themselves and gift it to them.

Invest in Employees’ Professional Growth

Another form of recognition is to let team members know the potential you see in them.

“We also view increased responsibility and career advancement as meaningful forms of recognition,” Snyder says. “Giving someone a new opportunity, trusting them with greater responsibility, or promoting them into a leadership role sends a powerful message that we see their potential and value what they bring to the company.”

It is important to make sure to frame this reward around opportunities the employee actually wants, not additional work they didn’t particularly ask for. Investing in their education, sending them to industry events and exposing them to senior leadership are all ways to convey your commitment to their professional growth.

Make Recognition Part of Your Company Culture

When employees perform well or rise to the challenge, not everything may need a formal celebration, but recognition should be a regular part of your company’s culture.

No matter what methods you choose to use, people want to be acknowledged for their hard work.

“Most of them don’t need to be beat down, so motivate them, help them, believe that everything is possible, and if and when they are, you’re right there with them celebrating, and bringing them up,” Waters says. “Most of them, I don’t have to hold accountable. Most of them, they want to be good at what they do. They want to be the best. So, I don’t have to push them that hard. They’re already pushing themselves.”