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A good reward and recognition programme doesn’t just spring up overnight - you need to put the effort in to build a solid structure. 

The same goes for refreshing an existing programme: it takes time, asking the right questions and shaping an offering suited to your people.

Follow these steps to build an effective reward and recognition programme.

Step 1: Understand your workforce and review your current approach

The first step is always to find out what will work best for your employees. Split this into two sections - analysis and feedback.

For analysis, consider these questions:

  • How many employees do you have?
  • How many locations?
  • Are your employees based in an office, on a site or remotely?
  • What are your demographics?
  • How are managers currently rewarding?
  • How often are recognition and benefits used?

Next comes feedback. A good method is to do an employee pulse survey and a focus group: you’ll get data and give employees the opportunity to ask questions and prompt ideas.

You should uncover:

  • How appreciated people feel 
  • What rewards they value
  • Whether they prefer financial or non-financial rewards 
  • What they’d like to be recognised for
  • Understand the differences between regions, functions and demographics

Step 2. Define success: Set objectives, budget and success metrics

What does good look like for you? Defining clear objectives makes it easy to see what’s working. 

A good start is to set an ideal number of recognitions within a timeframe. This should be per person and as a percentage of your workforce.

You can also link your reward and recognition programme to your people strategy and wider business goals. Examples include:

  • Supporting talent attraction
  • Increasing employee retention rates
  • Improving your employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) or happiness score
  • Strengthening alignment to organisational values

Pair these results with outcomes that matter to your leadership team. For example, if attracting top talent is a goal, you might share how you’ve improved eNPS.

Step 3. Set your budget

Set a realistic reward and recognition budget per person, including how it should be used and factoring in everyday moments and big milestones. 

Keep in mind that this should cover the cost of any platform you introduce. When looking for a platform, find one that offers easy admin and reporting - minimising admin time is a big saving. 

If budget is tight, phase reward in. Start with recognition, and when you can show the impact, reward budget conversations become much easier. 

Step 4. Create a reward catalogue that works across countries

A strong catalogue offers localised rewards through one platform, making it easy to offer plenty of choice without the admin of sourcing multiple options.

For example, with Perkbox, managers can be allocated reward points that they can use to reward their people, with the option to redeem across a large catalogue of rewards globally.

When designing your catalogue, consider:

  • Offering local vouchers, experiences and perks 
  • Range of choice
  • Cultural differences
  • Local tax rules and reporting

Step 5. Establish governance, fairness and avoid bias

Clear guidelines help keep the programme consistent and fair across your organisation, so consider any rules you need to set around eligibility and frequency. 

It’s also important to address the risk of unconscious bias. This often manifests as favouring certain teams or personalities, especially if they’re more visible. Bear in mind those who might be more easily overlooked and factor that into guidance.

Some platforms also have reporting options that help you monitor fairness, so you know when it’s time to adjust your recognition criteria.