What are incentives for employees?
In a nutshell, incentives are a powerful employee engagement tool. No one likes to feel unappreciated, especially if they work hard. This is why many businesses today focus on rewarding their employees to make sure they’re happy and stay motivated. Of course, a salary compensates staff for their work, but it’s often not enough to make them feel truly appreciated. This is where incentives come in. Incentives are special rewards for employees that can be earned for good performance. From a psychological perspective, good behaviour in the workplace is rewarded and therefore repeated. The trick here is to offer rewards on a predictable, regular basis because prompt rewards have been found to increase intrinsic motivation.
Why are staff reward programs important?
According to Harvard Business School experts, employees crave to be recognised by their managers. Interestingly, they not only appreciate financial rewards but especially care for creative out-of-the-box incentives! Incentive rewards for employees help create a happier, more productive working environment. And happy employees are more likely to stay on and not seek out other job opportunities. You don’t want to lose your best staff, after all! What’s more, if your team feel appreciated, they’re more inclined to go above and beyond what’s necessary and end up being more productive. This naturally benefits you as the employer as well.
Ten creative rewards for employees
Let’s explore ten incentive ideas for how you can reward your staff:
1. Set up well-being programs
Well-being should be a priority in any great company. It’s important that your staff are healthy, happy and motivated. To keep their physical and mental well-being on track, offer employees gift vouchers for spa visits or foot treatments (especially if they’re on their feet all day). Organise a corporate massage service that treats top achievers free of charge each Friday. You might even want to invest in a health club membership for especially outstanding results achieved by a team member. Finally, giving workers the opportunity to work from home on certain days will also boost their well-being.
2. Offer financial perks
The obvious rewards for employees include bonuses and extra Christmas payments (although you might want to refer to these tips from the Australian HR Institute to make sure you’re applying best practices). But you can also set up a profit-sharing initiative where your employees have the opportunity to be rewarded with shares in your company. A company car with all expenses taken care of is another great idea for your incentives for employees. Everyone has bills to pay, so financial rewards will always be appreciated.
3. Celebrate with employee awards
Why not set up an official employee awards program? Having regular prizes up for grabs can keep employees motivated. Who will be the next employee of the month or score that coveted customer service award? Who brought in the highest sales last month? Awards should be announced and displayed publicly, where possible, to give employees their due recognition. This will give your staff something to strive for and keep them motivated to deliver their best work.
4. Launch staff reward programs
A staff reward program is another great option to explore. Staff can earn points for certain achievements and work towards different reward levels. Similarly to the frequent flyer rewards programs we’re used to seeing among airlines, you could introduce Bronze, Silver and Gold reward tiers with different prizes, depending on everyone’s points total. Of course, the goals set in each case need to be achievable, or the program might have the opposite effect and discourage workers from trying.
5. Give public recognition
Who doesn’t like to feel appreciated? Public recognition is a highly effective tool to thank your employees and make them feel truly appreciated. You could include a special section in your company newsletter, celebrating their achievements. Or you could put up a noticeboard showcasing this week’s outstanding results and give them a special mention on your corporate social media accounts. For especially noteworthy accomplishments, you might even want to consider having a trophy engraved with employee names and showing it off it in a display case in your foyer.
6. Pay for classes or training courses
A popular incentive is vouchers for classes they can take in their spare time. These can be in areas that interest employees and give them the chance to develop new skills or simply enjoy an existing hobby. Paint & sip classes are a particularly popular choice at the moment and will allow your staff to bring out their inner Picasso while enjoying themselves. You can, of course, also pay for professional training courses for your staff members, for example at your local TAFE. These are usually more expensive, and your employees will likely appreciate the opportunity. In the long run, their new skills might even benefit the company too!
7. Surprise with creative perks
Sure, financial perks and public recognition are very important and effective. But if you want to be seen as a trendy, modern employer, you might want to have some creative tricks up your sleeve to thank your staff members. Perhaps you could organise a bring-your-pet-to-work day (within reason, of course – no one wants a pet snake on their desk!). Or you could introduce a themed or casual dress day if certain targets are met, for example. Think out of the box and get creative to make your perks fun!
8. Give time off
There’s hardly any worker who won’t appreciate some time off. Your incentive rewards for employees could include an afternoon off – paid, of course. Send that appreciated staff member home early and watch their eyes light up as they head home to kick back and relax. Surprises like these are sure to make you a popular employer.
9. Say thank you
The simple things are often the most effective. Walk over to your employee and thank them in person if they did something amazing. Alternatively, slip a handwritten thank-you note on their desk and watch how it’ll bring a smile to their face.
10. Throw a party
Who doesn’t love a good party? Most teams will appreciate it if you celebrate their achievements with a surprise pizza party in the office or a catered picnic outdoors. Crank up the music (perhaps even hire a DJ!) and serve up those treats for a great afternoon all team members are sure to enjoy! Refer back to this list when you’re looking for inspiration for your next incentive. Bear in mind that an appealing incentive program for employees can also boost your employer brand. Employees are likely to share their positive experiences with their friends and family, so you’ll be known as an attractive employer who recognises and rewards staff.
Please note that none of the companies mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.
