Recognition and Rewards. The 2025 metrics that actually matter.
Cue ABBA… because honey, it’s a rich man’s world, and people know their worth.
Let’s cut to the chase: people want to feel valued. Not just once a year when their performance review rolls around. They want to know every day that their contribution matters and that iit doesn’t go unnoticed.
Performance and reward go hand-in-hand. We’re taught this in HR and we hear it spoken about as recruiter, but I’ve worked with so many candidates who haven’t had a single piece of meaningful feedback since their last performance appraisal. Or … they only hear feedback when something goes wrong.
Feedback is not a formality and it shouldn’t be scheduled. Feedback is a growth strategy and a key tool for individual growth within your business.
If you’re waiting until a performance appraisal to acknowledge someone’s efforts (or give them constructive feedback), you’re way too late. If you miss the opportunity to give in-the-moment feedback, you miss the window to coach, develop and build trust and skills on the go. Feedback is your opportunity to course correct before your team become disengaged.
Relier Team Member: Cassie aka The Genius Author
If you’re waiting until a performance appraisal to acknowledge someone’s efforts (or give them constructive feedback), you’re way too late. If you miss the opportunity to give in-the-moment feedback, you miss the window to coach, develop and build trust and skills on the go. Feedback is your opportunity to course correct before your team become disengaged.
Great leaders give timely feedback and when that becomes part of the culture, performance lifts, because people feel safe to stretch.
Now let’s talk rewards. Yes, financial recognition matters. But it’s not enough. Especially not in 2025, when people are balancing more than ever and rethinking what value really means.
There’s a lot of noise about flexibility. Do we offer WFH? Do we not? Will people actually work productively?
Let me offer our team environment as a case study. We’re 100% remote and we are one of the most productive, collaborative, and accountable teams I’ve personally ever worked in. So yes, it’s possible, but it requires trust, communication, and clear expectations.
And while I know retail can’t operate fully remotely, I’m still going to push the envelope because I will always be about the OG retail players.
What could a WFH day look like for a Store Manager?
A day off the floor to reflect, plan and strategise.
A day to think critically about the store’s performance and development.
A day to roster uninterrupted, to performance plan uninterrupted, to complete recruitment activities, business plan for the next quarter, schedule succession opportunities and growth roadmaps, complete self-directed product and leadership training.
Have I listed enough yet? This is true productivity.
Rewards go far beyond pay slips. They can be as simple as an early mark on a Friday, a self-directed L&D budget, a team dinner, or genuine career progression. Sometimes it’s truly as easy as recognition. ‘You’re doing an incredible job, here’s what I noticed.’
If your performance system starts and ends with KPIs, what message are you sending?
High performance doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from clarity, consistency, and most importantly, care.
With love,
Cassie x
