Almost every business I’ve spoken to is doing it tough at the moment, and all are trying desperately hard to keep their doors open and staff employed. However, many HR teams and Line Managers are still having to continue their BAU activities, and as we move closer to the new financial year, budgeting and salary reviews will soon (if not already) be on the agenda. As it is survival mode for most, promotions and pay increases will be out of the question – but keeping all employees, and our top performers, engaged is incredibly important. Below are three ideas to recognise and reward those who deserve it.

1. Recognise them and their efforts: Recognition can hold as much power as a pay bump, particularly if it is personalised to the employee and their achievements. Some individuals don’t like public recognition so it’s best to assess first how they respond to praise, but most will appreciate a detailed shout out on the monthly Zoom meeting or a post on the company’s Teams channel.

2. Empower with new skills and responsibilities: Sit down and understand your team member’s short- and long-term goals and do what you can to improve their skillset. If external training is off the cards, see if they can be exposed to other teams or responsibilities (if that’s of interest) or greater autonomy and ownership for future projects.

3. Identify other perks: Before COVID, the ability to work from home was a huge benefit. Now that we’re all stuck at home it’s not as tantalising, but there are other options, such as longer lunch breaks, half days on Fridays, or flexible start and finish times (if that’s not part of your company’s culture already).

When someone goes above and beyond, they deserve to be rewarded for it. However, if budgets are tight, HR and Line Manager’s need to be creative to keep their star employees engaged. Fostering a company culture of recognition and encouraging upskilling isn’t just a short-term option, it can improve work satisfaction and organisational citizenship in the long run as well.