An employee reward program is an effective way of keeping employee motivation high. Keeping employees motivated, as we all know, is very important. Because motivation is directly related to better employee performance. And better performance, in turn, can lead to higher net income for the business.

The key thing to remember here is that the employee reward programs should be well planned and properly implemented. The study "Incentives, Workplace Performance and Motivation: Research showed that correctly selected implemented, and monitored incentive programs 22 % better results in individual performance and 44 % better results in team performance.

Effective communication is one of the key factors that result in a successful employee reward programs. This should be present during the preparation, launch and sustain phases of the motivation program. What should be communicated? The goals of the rewards program as well as the fact that the program is objective and consistent. You can use group strategy discussions and other methods to deliver these messages.

During the sustaining phase of the program, communicate to the employees well by delivering constructive feedback. And work on building a work environment that makes employees feel that they are free to share their ideas and constructive criticisms. All these go a long way towards building the credibility of the program and fostering employee engagement.

A well planned and properly implemented training program is crucial for an employee reward programs to succeed. Here are some of the things to remember when building and implementing a training program:

1 There should be a system for continuous feedback and goal setting.

2. There should also be a system to monitor performance.

3. The goals should be based on behaviours that lead to increased results.

4. The targets of the training program should be stated in specific and measurable terms and should involve a specific period or time frame.

5. Training should emphasise the education and skills building aspect and should also be a way to empower employees to achieve their individual and team
goals.

6. Always make sure there are long-term training programs in place to support long-term motivation programs. Motivation programs that last for at least six months post better results regarding employee motivation.

The training program should be monitored and should be aligned with the company's goals and that of the existing reward programs. A great way of monitoring and implementing the employee reward programs is through online training software. This kind of software helps make the incentive program omnipresent in the entire company, with all the employees having immediate access to the goals, training information and updated employee stats from the software.

What to look for in an online training program?

1. It should preferably combine the training, feedback and employee rewards components of the motivation system into one platform.
2. It should be flexible and easy to customise. A training program should be flexible enough to accommodate long-term as well as short-term training.
3. It should ideally be able to work with other e-learning programs.