91. 🥳 Non-monetary Startup Rewards and Recognitions

You want to attract and, more importantly, retain top talent. But as a startup, you don't have the funds to pay competitive salaries, let alone top dollar, for those employees. So what can you do to recruit and hold on to them?

Fortunately, you can do many things that employees will value as much or more than money (within reason).

Here are my top seven highly effective motivators and rewards for employees.

This article is part of a series on running your business. Check out the rest of the entries HERE. You can also get this content through the video embedded at the top of the page and as a podcast. See all the podcast options HERE.

Vision

It's critical to have and share a strong vision for the business. People want to work for a company where they feel that what they're doing is essential and they're making a positive impact in the world.

And frankly, you won't survive the founder's journey if you don't have passion for what you're doing.

The key is to pass that vision along, to infect the people in your company with your passion. It's a sales job and something you need to do continuously to reinforce the why of what you're doing.

When you can get that right, everyone will want to accompany you on the startup journey.

Equity

You can give your employees equity. This incentive is obvious, but many founders do it wrong. They hire someone, hand them some options, and hope they are motivated.

Many employees don't understand what they're getting when they receive options. They don't know how it will benefit them and why it aligns your and their interests.

Once they get that, they will want to do things to benefit the company because it directly helps them too.

I did a whole article on how to explain stock options to employees. You can find that HERE.

Public Recognition

Public recognition can be huge for many, but importantly not all, employees. Some people hate the attention, in which case don't recognize them publicly. That can feel more like humiliation than praise.

But, for those who like it, giving that kind of recognition can have a significant impact.

In meetings, give credit at every opportunity. Always shine the spotlight on your company's people, making them look good.

When bringing in a potential new hire for an interview, ensure they see you giving this kind of positive feedback and approbation.

This is a vital piece of the corporate culture you need to build. Teach all your managers to give that kind of credit and highlight people's success all the time.

I loved the idea of creating kill flags for my development team. I wanted to have little stickers that they could put on their monitors like they do on fighters and bombers to show missions and kills.

Anytime someone would solve a particularly sticky problem or achieve something special, they would get a marker that could go on the side of their monitor. The top developers would quickly acquire a whole line of these things. It allows them to keep score and have an informal competition with other team members.

Things that make successes visible on an ongoing basis, beyond the moment of congratulation, work very well.

Delegation

Delegation and employee empowerment let your team know that they matter to you, that you trust them, and trust their judgment.

You can't fake this. You must give them the authority to make decisions that matter. When they make mistakes, and they will, help them understand how to make those decisions better. Ensure you always provide them with all the information they need to act effectively.

If they feel uncomfortable with this responsibility, they may come to you for the answers. Don't just tell them what to do. Help them think through it so they won't need to come running to you next time.

Delegation, in addition to making people feel like they're invested in the business and part of making things happen, takes a massive load off your shoulders. It also allows you to bring many more minds to bear on the problem, which is a big win.

Personal Time and Attention

Most people value your time and attention. When the founder, CEO, or senior management takes the time to meet with them, they feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

In the early days, you should have one-on-ones with everyone in the company at least once a week. A leader's main job is to help other people be successful and achieve things. You should also be coaching them, not just when they're having difficulties but all the time. Constantly help them improve their toolsets and move up in the organization.

As you grow, you must make sure that you train your executives and managers to do the same. Building that into the culture goes a long way to making people feel visible and valued.

Individualize Rewards

Tailor your rewards to the individual. No one wants to feel like just a generic cog in the machine. People want to be seen for who they are.

Some people love the spotlight and want to be called out and given attention. Other people want to be given special projects, the time for experimentation, or transferred to another team for a while.

One person might want to meet with customers or vendors. Another might value attending a conference, seminar, or boot camp to develop new skills.

All of those can effectively motivate some employees but might demotivate others.

Avoid Anti-Motivators

Make sure you understand what your employee doesn't want to receive. Companies spend enormous sums on rewards, recognitions, and motivators that accomplish the opposite.

Consider the classic company social event. You might be planning a big weekend get-together or a team-building exercise. For all the introverts, that is what they least want to do. Far from being a reward, this feels like punishment.

"Wow" Rewards

Rewards like Employee of the Month start to feel very generic after a short time, but you can do things that are unique and not very expensive that will blow the socks off people.

These "wow" rewards can have an impact far beyond what you might expect. Here are two examples that worked incredibly well for me.

At Anonymizer, we had a project that turned into a death march. The team put in long hours for several months in a row. It was a huge slog, and they made a heroic effort towards the end to get the project done. When we finally delivered it to the customer, I wanted to do something that showed not only that the company appreciated them but that I personally appreciated their efforts.

Rather than buying some trophy or generic award, I went to work. I bought a case of Red Bull, sliced up and stained some wood boards, attached the empty cans to them, burned in the project's name, and handed them out to the team. The fact that this was something that the founder (me) had spent a weekend making by hand made them meaningful.

I know it did because many years later, I still saw those awards sitting in people's offices, hanging on the sides of their cubicles, when almost every other more generic recognition had long ago gone into the trash.

Sometimes awards are something you buy but have an impact far beyond the amount you paid.

I had some people on a different project who had done a stellar job. We wanted to recognize them for a gold medal-worthy performance, but I didn't want to give them some cheap mass-produced medal. What could really make that statement?

We decided to buy up a couple of 1oz solid gold coins. You could see the impact in their eyes when we brought them up and presented them with a hunk of real gold.

I don't think they had ever seen a real gold coin. They talked to me later about showing it off to their wife, kids, and friends. They were blown away.

At the time, gold was running about $400 an ounce. The cost of the reward wasn't nothing, but it was far less than giving them a raise or bonus, and the emotional impact far surpassed that.

Think about recognitions that are unexpected and show personal interest and effort.

Those are some of the most effective techniques I used to make people feel seen and valued, creating fantastic and lasting loyalty to me and the company.

I hope you found something here that you can use with your team.

Let me know in the comments what rewards and recognitions you have found most effective.

Until next time. Ciao!