Hiring competent employees is the first step in forming a productive and successful team. In the face of workplace stress, economic downturns, and declining employee engagement, though, small business owners and entrepreneurs are on the hunt for strategies to maintain employee satisfaction and commitment. Employee incentive programs might be the solution.
Employee incentive programs aren’t new, but their importance is escalating in today’s fiercely competitive labor market. This article will delve into the role of employee incentive programs and how they can foster organizational unity, boost morale and stimulate productivity.
Employee incentive programs reward employees or teams for reaching certain milestones or meeting specific goals. You can create an employee incentive program around any type of target you want your employees to strive for, including:
The goal is to motivate workers, and employee incentive programs can use a variety of rewards to achieve this. While cash bonuses, including holiday bonuses, are the most common forms of employee incentives, monetary rewards alone often fall short of adequately motivating employees. In a struggling economy, it may also not be feasible to provide pay raises and cash bonuses. Fortunately, there are other workplace incentives that employees may find desirable, and you can use these to build an appealing employee incentive program.
Workplace incentives can boost company morale and decrease turnover, but incentive programs must be detailed and available to everyone.
The best way to determine which workplace incentives your employees actually want is to ask them directly. Think about running employee surveys to understand their preferred rewards and the incentives that would motivate them the most.
Frame your survey to uncover the incentives that would make employees feel more appreciated. To give you an idea of the responses you can expect, these were the top six incentive offers from a 2022 survey by the Incentive Research Foundation:
Remember: Employee incentive preferences can greatly differ based on company culture and individual perceptions, so make sure your plan is grounded in your own workplace culture and your employees’ needs. Think about what would meaningfully improve their work experience or their personal life outside work, and incorporate it into your employee incentive program.
Implementing employee incentive programs is about recognizing and appreciating employees who are performing well, not conducting a competition. When providing and awarding incentives, consider these tips:
While team building is a laudable business goal, not everyone wants to be rewarded as part of a team. According to a Genesis Analytics survey, 85 percent of employees prefer individual incentives to group incentives.
Organizations must meticulously plan employee incentive programs to prevent the arbitrary distribution of rewards. Here are some best practices for planning an incentive program:
Employee incentive programs provide a myriad of interconnected benefits to both employees and organizations, including a happier work environment, more engaged and loyal employees, and improved employee retention.
Fostering an improved work-life balance, communicating transparently, and offering cool job perks are other ways to keep employees happy and fulfilled.
Incentive programs can effectively enhance employee morale and retention. However, no amount of gift cards or concert tickets can offset a toxic work environment, lack of meaningful work, or lack of basic benefits. A positive company culture includes benefits and perks available to all, such as professional development opportunities, mentorship programs, and a flexible workplace. An effective incentive program can build upon this positive environment, leading to increased engagement.
If your workplace culture is stymied by in-fighting, high turnover, and lack of team cohesion, you should focus on repairing these elements first. Otherwise, you’ll just be funding a workplace incentive program that’s unlikely to make up for the drawbacks of your company culture.
If you want to improve your existing company culture, check out our guides to creating an inclusive company culture and hiring employees as cultural fits.
Recognition through appreciation, praise, and employee incentive programs can significantly contribute to a healthy work environment and engaged employees. In the current uncertain business landscape, offering tangible incentives to employees can bolster a company’s culture, retention rate, and bottom line. Crafting an effective employee incentive program can help you stand out from other workplaces and give employees another reason to stick around, but you need to develop them with your employees’ real needs in mind.