Employee Reward and Recess

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how beneficial it is for kids to play outside at recess. Which of course then led to how important it is for adults to also have recess. Simultaneously there’s been lots of talk in the HR World about how to recognize good employees in this economy when employee recognition plans have either been slashed due to budgets or are frowned upon if you’re using taxpayer money.

Here’s a solution. Recognize your employees by giving them an adult version of recess at work. It costs little or nothing, it will make the employee feel valued and the higher ups might be surprised to see the productivity of employees with recess actually improve.

Telecommuting – Offer them the opportunity to work from home 1 day a week for a month – yes this takes some infrastructure – you need a laptop for them (but most companies have a few for traveling execs) and you need IT to set it up for them.

Working On Their Schedule – Not everyone’s a morning person but some people are. Offer your good employees the chance to choose what hours they want to work for a week. Of course it should be within reason but does a 7-3 or 10-6 shift really make a material difference for the company? Probably not, but it might make a big difference in retaining good employees.

Recess – Literally – Give your good employees an extra long lunch break where they can choose to do errands, go to the gym, get a Doctor’s appt. out of the way, etc. without taking time off. Again this should be scheduled so it works for the team – but really a couple hours off in the middle of the day is a real treat for the employee with little downside for the employer.

Gym Break – head to a nearby gym and ask if you can have some guest passes for employees to try it out. In this economy I’m thinking it shouldn’t be a problem. Then give your employees the free pass and a some free time to work out – so they can leave early, come in late or extend lunch. Again free, but for the right employee, will be really well received.

Grocery Delivery to the Cube – partner with a local food store that delivers in your area. Have your employees place an order and pay for it and you pick up the delivery fee. They’ll appreciate having free time later when they would have had to be at the grocery store.

I’m sure there are many more of these types of incentives that don’t cost a lot but get a lot of goodwill in return. Just be creative. Maybe even ask your employees, I’m sure they’d be happy to tell you what kind of adult recess they would like for a job well done.

And if you’re an employee who’s been told that you’re great – but your company just can’t afford to do any employee recognition right now…suggest one of these options. If you’d like more flexibility at work – this could get your foot in the door.