10 ways to incentivize professional services employees through rewards and recognition

Professional services attract some of the most ambitious, high-achieving people out there. These are individuals who embrace high-pressure environments, long hours, and the thrill of success. They’re passionate, they’re motivated, and they’re the best of the best, but the reality of their work environments can hit hard and fast. How do you incentivize employees in professional services when they lose that spark?

Here’s the good news: if you’re looking into how your organization can reduce burnout and motivate your employees, you’re already a standout. Nearly 70% of professionals say their employers aren’t doing enough to prevent burnout in their organization. But you haven’t earned a gold star just yet. First, you need a plan.

One of the most effective tools for incentivizing professional employees is a well-structured rewards and recognition (R&R) program. Achievers is the solution you’re looking for. It’s a high-impact employee rewards and recognition program that delivers more frequent recognition, increased employee engagement, better employee retention, and proven effectiveness across the globe.

What motivates professional services employees?

Employees in the professional services are specialized, educated, and driven workers. Organizations need to tap into the things that motivate their most capable personnel, or their workforce risks turning into a revolving door. Incentive programs need to align with employee expectations, desires, and motivations. Stop the retention merry-go-round and start retaining talent with an employee engagement strategy that targets key motivation drivers.

• Career growth: Professional services employees expect their careers to grow. Organizations that don’t open up tailored opportunities for growth will quickly discover their best people taking interviews and making the jump for a better opportunity.
• Autonomy: Your best employees want the independence to prove themselves. They’re striving for chances to make their own decisions. In a sector that thrives on an “eat what you kill” attitude, the best are keen to test their instincts.
• Recognition and meaningful work: Recognition and meaningful work go hand-in-hand. A McKinsey survey on what motivates performance showed that employees felt more motivated when financial rewards were combined with nonfinancial rewards that made their work more meaningful.

10 ways to incentivize professional services employees through rewards and recognition

A rewards and recognition program is a strategic way of turning “thank you” into an entire culture. It combines peer-to-peer recognition and recognition from leadership with tangible rewards that will get employees excited. R&R platforms turn recognition into a way of life.

1. Peer-to-peer recognition

Recognition needs to be easy. Enable employees to recognize and reward their colleagues instantly through your R&R platform. Promoting a culture of appreciation and collaboration boosts morale and builds stronger teams. A great R&R platform can even turn peer-to-peer recognition into real rewards, letting employees accumulate points that they can exchange on a global rewards marketplace. Peer-to-peer recognition dramatically increases the frequency of recognition. Great things happen when saying “great job” becomes a habit.

2. Project milestone rewards

One way to leverage your R&R platform is to set up automated rewards for employees when they reach specific project milestones. Picture this: a software developer has just spent weeks testing a new program for a customer-facing app. The last bug has been fixed, and it’s green lights across your workflow. Just as it’s about to be passed off to the team responsible for deployment, the developer in charge of quality assurance gets automatically rewarded with points that they can trade in now or save up for something bigger. Paired with a “thank you” from leadership, it’s a recipe for success. Employee motivation is a more likely outcome when recognition is timely and closely related to project milestones.

3. Performance-based points bonuses

Rewards platforms are a way of incentivizing the behaviors that drive growth and make your company more competitive. Align rewards with the performance metrics you value most, offering personalized points bonuses based on individual and team achievements.

4. Swag tokens

Well-designed company swag is a great way to promote company culture and create better connections with your employees. Swag needs to look good, be useful, and resonate with people. Once you’ve aced your swag game, swag tokens become a great way to get employees excited — and even competitive — about rocking your brand. Offering employee swag tokens that can be redeemed for branded merchandise creates a fun and tangible incentive.

5. Points-based incentives competitions

There’s nothing like a bit of competition to make things interesting at the office. Organize friendly competitions where employees can earn points for achieving specified goals or performance targets, with rewards for the top performers. You’re all in the same boat, but a little competition to see who can row the fastest will get you all to your destination faster.

6. Spot bonuses

Unlike rewards provided through project milestone- or performance metric-based programs, spot bonuses are more impromptu, on-the-fly rewards that recognize exceptional performance in the moment. Not all major accomplishments are going to fit neatly into your pre-established rewards criteria. Spot bonuses give your team leaders the flexibility to streamline the reward process for quick, meaningful recognition when an employee stands out. Greater autonomy will also make your rewards program feel more authentic, not just another box to check.

7. Recognition in team meetings

Celebrate employees’ achievements in real-time by sharing their recognition during team or company-wide meetings. Public recognition can feel exceptionally rewarding because it puts the team member in the spotlight, even if it’s informal. Highlighting standout contributions during team meetings gives employees that warm feeling that they’ve done something great and everyone knows about it. Recognition can happen anytime, anywhere. When you shout it from the rooftops, employees know they’re valued.

8. Customized reward options

Empower employees to choose their rewards from a variety of options, including gift cards, experiences, or charitable donations. Matching rewards to employee preferences makes your program so much more effective than if you used standardized rewards. However, customizing reward options for every recognition is time-consuming and difficult to get right. That’s why you want to use a platform that gives employees access to a global marketplace where they choose their own rewards.

9. Team-based rewards

You know what they say: teamwork makes the dream work. Great teams make the impossible happen, and your R&R program should have room for more than just individual accomplishments. Reward groups for collective achievements, fostering more collaboration and team spirit, and ensuring everyone’s efforts are recognized. A system that only recognizes individual achievements means that tons of incredible teamwork can wind up lost between the cracks or misattributed to a single person.

10. Long-term achievement awards

Long-term employees are some of your company’s most valuable assets. They’re treasure troves of institutional knowledge, and they’ve contributed to the company’s goals for years. Recognize employees for their sustained contributions over time, offering milestone awards, badges, or even celebratory events for those big anniversaries.

Best practices for implementing incentive programs

A great plan is nothing without excellent execution. How you implement an employee recognition program will define its long-term success, so you want to come out of the gate strong. There are a few key goals to keep in mind as you roll out a new platform. First, you want the platform to be easy to use. Recognition needs to be streamlined to happen frequently. Second, you want your whole team, from employees to HR to leadership, to be enthusiastic about the program. You may encounter some skepticism at first, especially from professionals who are used to measuring recognition strictly with an annual bonus.

• Leverage technology: The platform you choose sets the tone for the rest of your rollout. Choose a seamless platform like Achievers to streamline recognition and reward distribution. It comes with a robust toolkit of prebuilt campaigns, comprehensive support, and a program that encourages high-frequency recognition without impacting your budget.
• Ensure frequent and meaningful recognition: Encourage leaders and peers to recognize contributions in real time. When someone pulls off something great, they need to know it right away. Real-time recognition is more likely to reinforce behaviors that align with your organizational goals.
• Make rewards personalized and flexible: They might never admit it, but when you introduce a rewards program, your employees have a wish list. Personalized rewards are far more likely to motivate employees. Gift cards for employees are a great way to give rewards that resonate. You can also use a points-based system that employees can exchange on a marketplace where they get to pick the rewards they want the most.
• Integrate with existing systems: If you want to see frequent recognitions, your platform needs to integrate with the systems you already use, including communications, HR, and performance management tools. Connect your system for a more connected workplace.

Why Achievers is the best choice for professional services firms

Professional services firms often look to improve employee engagement, raise retention rates, and effect cultural transformation across the organization when they look for a rewards program. None of those outcomes are small feats, but they’re exactly what makes Achievers stand out compared to other platforms. Here’s how our platform does it.

• Recognition frequency matters: A successful employee rewards platform is one that people actually use. In a busy environment, it’s tough to pay attention to the extras. Achievers ensures high participation rates through an intuitive and engaging platform. It couldn’t be simpler to send a quick appreciation to an employee or a peer. Opening up participation for all employees to recognize each other creates a more active platform.
• Seamless integration: Achievers works with your existing Human Resources Information System (HRIS), payroll, and collaboration tools like Teams and Slack. We take down barriers to recognition and get more people involved. Recognition feeds recognition, too. When your people start to experience how uplifting a “thank you” can feel, they’ll be more likely to share the love.
• Global reach and customization: Other platforms struggle to deliver the flexibility and customization that multinational organizations need. With Achievers, you can use the same platform for a global workforce thanks to localized reward options. Workforces around the globe prioritize different rewards. You need employee rewards customized to their preferences for your platform to have the same success in different labor markets.
• 26. Data-driven insights: Never lose sight of your goals when introducing an R&R platform. AI-powered analytics help you optimize your engagement strategies. Whether you’re aiming to improve engagement, reduce turnover, or align employee behaviors with organizational goals, flexible data gives you a constant pulse on the ROI of your platform.

Transform your business with the right incentives platform

A well-designed R&R program will have a bigger and better impact on motivation, engagement, and all your business goals. Achievers helps you shape your workforce, change your culture, and drive real business results with meaningful rewards and recognition.

You expect great results from your people. You should expect the same from your R&R platform. No matter where your people are in the world and no matter what they do, Achievers is the rewards and recognition platform most likely to get them on board with your goals.

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