Welcome to your monthly HR e newsletter!

South Africa is officially in an economic recession. The two consecutive quarters of negative growth means the SA economy is now in recession. Our focus for this month is on strategies for motivating and rewarding employees in the current recessionary times.

It is important to create a committed, engaged and motivated workforce but even more so during economic uncertainties. A strong reward strategy is one of the most effective means of maintaining engagement but how can you balance the current business environment with the need for improved performance?

Successful reward strategies are those that have been aligned with the needs of the company its’ culture and employees. The importance of motivating staff cannot be stressed enough, especially in today's uncertain climate. Recognising and rewarding staff will help them to feel satisfied, happy and included as an essential member of the company and ultimately affect the bottom line of your business.

This month's top tips will help you to motivate employees without straining your budget.

1. Start with a bang
Make sure from the outset that employees are aware of the rewards on offer and are inspired by them. Use staff and sales meetings, team briefings, email and newsletters to sell the schemes on offer explain them and answer any questions.

2. Do some research
what motivates a 20 year old female may not work for a 60 year old male. By researching employee profiles, you can ensure that motivation is targeted and made appropriate to staff. Selecting the right benefits is the key to a successful reward structure.

3. Little and often is key
Interest can be revived by shortening the payout horizon with interim rewards. The award values need not to be huge, but the motivation value of having frequent winners is tremendous. News of these targets and prizes also creates a communications opportunity that raises visibility.

4. Allow individuals to set their own targets
Persuading staff to take continuing ownership of their personal targets and objectives is an ongoing challenge. Ownership of the targets in this way is the key to raising levels of motivation to achieve them.

5. Incentives should encourage sustained effort
Start afresh each quarter, or each month, with plusses and minuses wiped out, so that everyone has a chance to compete on equal terms.

Tips provided by HR Zone To read more click here

Hope this helps