Recognizing and rewarding project teams or individual team members is a crucial part of a project manager’s role. As project team leader and mentor, he wants to keep his most talented employees highly motivated and encourage those who are less committed to pick up the pace. A great way to do this is by acknowledging when someone has gone the extra mile and giving the appropriate reward for doing so.

However, giving a reward is not always as easy as it seems. Give it too little thought and those people might be left wondering why they bothered, but overdo it too much and the rest of your team will have their noses blown out. Despite the thought and careful balancing act that must come into play here, the payoff is serious business. Research has shown that employees who feel appreciated are twice as likely to stay with their company than those who feel unappreciated.

If you feel you don’t have the time or resources to say thank you when it matters, just consider the costs involved in recruiting, hiring and training a replacement team member, in case someone goes missing. And it may surprise you, but most workers aren’t looking for a massive pay raise or financial bonus as a reward; in fact, a simple and heartfelt thank you can be enough of a gesture to lift their spirits for the day.

Some prize ideas for your team

As mentioned, your team probably won’t be looking for a financial reward for their efforts, so what can you do to make them feel appreciated? Here are some simple team reward ideas that will show your value and appreciation.

• Flexible work arrangements: Allowing your team to start some kind of flexible work can be greatly appreciated by everyone. It shows a level of trust on your part and will allow team members to work their careers into their personal lives in a much more efficient manner.

• Free Day Vouchers: A very popular reward is a ‘Free Day’ Voucher. The employee can use this at any time, no questions asked and no missing holidays or sick time.

• Lunch Out – If your budget fits, a hearty pub lunch will go a long way towards building great relationships with your team. If you can afford the time, surprise them after lunch by giving them the rest of the day off as well.

• Sabbatical: Similar to the day off token, but not as costly for productivity, a Sabbatical can be used to give that employee a late start on the day of their choice.

• Upward Notifications: A simple, yet effective way to thank a team member is to write a well-worded thank you email and send it not only to them, but to their boss as well, making sure that person feels appreciated on the team. company. as a whole, as well as within his team. This is a great way to motivate your project team members and building a motivated team will go a long way towards making you a successful project manager.