Why Are Employee Incentives Important?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideas for Employee Incentives<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n An incentive is \u201csomething that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action,\u201d according to Merriam Webster. When you add them to your workplace, they can help motivate your employees in their everyday work or in something else you are encouraging them to do.<\/strong> Those results can include everything from showing up to work on time to finding career development options that can improve their skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are four main types of employee incentives: compensation, recognition, rewards, and appreciation<\/a>. Throughout a calendar year, you can mix up how you encourage your employees<\/a> to follow through on things you\u2019d like them to do using these different kinds of incentives. You\u2019ll want to be creative with how you incentivize your employees. Each one of them has their own preferences and will respond differently to what\u2019s presented to them. As you read about each type of incentive, think about the team you lead and who would respond to each kind positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compensation is a monetary way that you show your employees how much you value their talents and input.<\/strong> On a broad scale, it\u2019s their monthly or bimonthly paycheck. As an incentive, compensation includes raises or bonuses that you might give on an annual or biannual basis, or even the option to hold stock in your company. Using these kinds of incentives shows that you put your money where your mouth is\u2014you value your employee, so you\u2019re going to invest in him or her with a tangible investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recognition incentives can be small, daily things that add up and remind your employees that their work is making a difference.<\/strong> Some of these incentives include saying thank you for a job well done, giving out handwritten notes of appreciation, an employee of the month award, or even bragging about your team to others in a large meeting. By simply recognizing the good work that they\u2019re putting in, you can help boost their morale and increase employee engagement<\/a>. Even when your team is in the middle of a difficult project or your industry is in a slower season, there\u2019s always something you can recognize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you think of employee incentive examples, you might first think of rewards incentives. These are tangible gifts that you can give out to your employees such as gift certificates, service awards, or prizes.<\/strong> Rewards incentives are things that your employees can look forward to, especially if you present them with rewards fairly consistently. If you give out rewards on a consistent basis, employees will know what they can expect and you can build up their motivation to receive those rewards by working hard. These don\u2019t stop at small items either! You can give out a pair of noise-canceling headphones, tickets to sporting events, festival passes, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An appreciation incentive is another great way to show you value your employees and encourage them to continue doing great work.<\/strong> You can make appreciation incentives<\/a> available to your team as a whole to encourage teamwork and collaboration. These can look like a paid lunch after your team has completed a big project, a group outing to celebrate a teammate\u2019s birthday, or a family fun day for the whole office. There are even options for virtual and remote teams<\/a>. If you have the pleasure of working on your team\u2019s budget, make sure you leave plenty of margin for appreciation incentives. A little bit of foresight (in both budget and time) goes a long way with this incentive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although you\u2019re already paying your employees for the work that they do, employee incentives are a step above the bare minimum compensation you give. They\u2019re intentional choices that you as a manager make to show your staff that the things they do can have positive consequences for them as well as the company!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee incentives are important because they can help boost your employees\u2019 job performance, motivate them to do good work, and can encourage them to stay with your company.<\/strong> Almost anyone who has had a job knows what it feels like to be overlooked or go unnoticed for a considerable amount of effort they\u2019ve put into their work. Employee incentives can help break that feeling and give your team something to look forward to, and ultimately they are a great way to boost employee engagement<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better employee engagement leads to a better work culture and better outcomes for your company. When you take the time to focus on your employees\u2019 needs, they end up more engaged with their work and will naturally be bought into your objectives and goals. You\u2019ll experience higher employee retention, a more positive workplace culture, less stress for your team, and you\u2019ll see more productivity around the office and profit for your business. Employee engagement really is beneficial for both the employee and the employer!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with better engagement, you\u2019ll find that incentives can promote teamwork and help you build trust with your employees. As you lay out the criteria for certain incentives, you can ensure that your team is producing quality work. Make sure that you\u2019re clear on those guidelines to prevent any confusion, and you can reiterate why an employee received an incentive and speak of their contribution to your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee performance isn\u2019t simply about getting a job done. It\u2019s about getting a job done well<\/em>. You don\u2019t simply want your employees ticking off boxes on a checklist of things to get done throughout the workday\u2014you want to see them giving their all and growing in their role. When your team does increasingly well, your business benefits from their efforts. Their performance can move your company forward, but how can you boost it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where incentives can come in and make a difference in performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee incentives are not the only way to increase performance, but they can certainly make a big impact. The Incentive Research Foundation<\/a> states that, with the help of a good and well-thought-out incentive program, employee performance can increase by 44%!<\/strong> Notice the \u201cgood and well-thought-out\u201d part though. There\u2019s work that managers have to put in if they want to see employees\u2019 performance increase. But, as we can see from the research, that extra work will be worth it in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incentives have the power to reinforce certain behaviors and higher levels of performance from your employees. Once they see that there\u2019s something to gain by doing great work, they\u2019re likely to pursue that gain by performing well over and over again. As that performance continues to be validated, they\u2019re more likely to be self-motivated to grow in their job descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the use of incentives, you\u2019ll see more productivity and better outcomes, but what\u2019s more, is that your employees will have a better idea of what is needed from them on a daily basis. With clarity on expectations, they can more easily meet your performance goals and be validated in their work through incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inc.<\/a> defines motivation as \u201cthe level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company’s workers bring to their jobs.\u201d No matter what industry you\u2019re in, motivation is something that every workplace needs. It\u2019s the drive employees (and managers!) need to continue showing up to work, day after day, even when things get tough or you\u2019d rather play hooky. Employee incentives can be items or sentiments of motivation that keep your team going and can even encourage their creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you think of employee incentives and motivation, understand that the incentives you provide can be of value to employees. Those valuables will give your employees the drive to succeed and put more effort into their everyday work. Incentives can positively affect your employees in their work life, personal life, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies show that when given a reason to do well, most people will. An incentive gives a reason, and especially if it\u2019s a valuable reason, your staff will be motivated to receive it. For example, Society Insurance<\/a> found that 85% of workers were more motivated to do their best work when offered an incentive!<\/strong> This goes hand-in-hand with our thoughts about performance. Employee incentives provide a link between motivation and performance\u2014they are the motivation that drives better performance! <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re not sure what kind of incentives would motivate your employees, simply ask. You can find out a lot through short surveys or even by having quick, informal conversations with your team. Learn what motivates and excites them, and offer those things as incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the job market shifts, the idea of retention becomes more and more important for your company. Retention<\/a> is important because there is a cost in hiring new employees, training them, giving them benefits, making space for them in your workplace, adding them to your work management systems, providing for development, and so on. As you know, each employee you hire adds something unique to your company and your workplace. The thought of losing that \u201csomething,\u201d whether it\u2019s a benefit to your particular team or an employee impacts your office in a positive way, should make you want to keep your team together as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, some turnover is inevitable (people move, retire, seek career changes, etc.), but if you can boost employee retention rates at your company, your clients can see that you\u2019re trustworthy, and you can even hire more people to fit in the right roles as your company grows. There\u2019s obvious value in retention, and we hope you can begin to recognize it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Achievers<\/a> found that recognition and rewards increased employee retention by 41%!<\/strong> If you want to increase or maintain your retention rates, consider what kind of employee incentives you can offer to keep staff on board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One easy incentive for employee retention is adding more paid-time-off (PTO) days to someone\u2019s bucket the longer that they\u2019re with your company. Even adding two or three extra PTO days can make a big difference. This is a kind of reward incentive that directly correlates to how long someone has been working with you. You can also provide service awards for every five years that someone has been an employee as a recognition of their loyalty to the company. These service awards can be a nice trophy or plaque that someone can take home with them, and you can even pair one of these awards with a coveted gift certificate or prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An important question to ask is, What can you do to show long-standing employees that their years of service are valued? Is that incentive something that will keep a new hire coming back? If the answer is yes, you\u2019re well on your way to bettering your retention rates and creating consistency within your office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve got the groundwork for just how employee incentives can boost your workplace and your business, let\u2019s look at some ideas for employee incentives. Remember, incentives should applaud a job well done.<\/strong> Throwing out rewards to employees when they haven\u2019t met ascertained criteria won\u2019t reinforce the kinds of behavior and productivity you\u2019re looking for in a successful workplace. As you look through these ideas, keep the four types of incentives in mind (compensation, recognition, rewards, and appreciation), and remember that your staff might respond more positively to some of those incentives over others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An employee incentive program offers rewards to employees as they complete certain predetermined goals in a particular time period at work. These programs should be well-thought-out, relevant, and desirable for employees.<\/strong> That means that you as a manager must take the time to work on what this program will look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good employee incentive programs have clearly defined goals for employees. There\u2019s no question about the criteria, and you have a specific key objective for offering the incentives. You\u2019ll also want to make sure that your incentives fit within your budget, especially if you expect multiple employees to meet the criteria. Well in advance of the beginning of your incentives program, figure out how much you can afford to spend so money is not an issue as your teammates complete the program. As your employee incentives program goes on, continue to be transparent about guidelines and make an effort to track your employees\u2019 performance as it relates to the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A program, as opposed to a singular employee incentive, can be presented as a long-term challenge. You can choose monetary or nonmonetary incentives, but choose things that your team will want to receive (again, if you don\u2019t know what they want, simply ask!). Figure out ways to build excitement for your program. If you\u2019ve got a fairly competitive team, lean into that. If you have a busy team with a lot on their plate, make some kind of countdown clock where they can easily see it and have something to look forward to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you make time to create a great incentives program, you\u2019ll see a positive impact on your employees\u2019 performance, motivation, and retention rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Games are a great way to incentivize your employees, add some fun to their workday, and build their camaraderie with one another.<\/strong> These games don\u2019t have to be highly competitive, and you can choose to either have each person working alone or with a team. The winners of these games should receive some kind of incentive that will make their coworkers a little jealous! Make sure you get feedback after each game to decide whether or not you would like to run it again or if there are tweaks that need to be made to each challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wellness challenge is a great way to meet your employees\u2019 personal needs<\/a> and goals while giving them incentives at work! You can create a fitness challenge, such as a walking goal for each day, or inspire them to try a new kind of exercise class, such as barre or pilates. Give some flexibility in this challenge, as you might have some employees that have less mobility than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For sales teams or teams that work directly with your clients, you can direct employees to send out a quick, two-question survey to customers after their interactions. You can make these surveys anonymous and write questions that are both qualitative and quantitative. Remember, your incentives program should be easily trackable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team building<\/a> activities are the perfect way to boost employee engagement and offer incentives to winners or participants. Your team will be able to work on something together, boosting teamwork, and they\u2019ll be working toward a particular goal, which is winning whichever incentive was promised to them. Check out our page on team building activities<\/a> to learn all about them and figure out what\u2019s best for your incentives program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of running around town or a park on a scavenger hunt, send teams on scavenger hunts within your office or your company. You can create a bingo sheet that they have to complete within a day or week (depending on how many spaces you have and how difficult you make the tasks). With this challenge, you can create more company unity by allowing different departments to show others what they do or explain certain processes to them. You can also do a virtual scavenger hunt<\/a> to make an accessible activity for in-person and remote employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"employee](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/employee-incentives-trophy-1024x538.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat are employee incentives?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Compensation Incentives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Recognition Incentives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Rewards Incentives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Appreciation Incentives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"hands](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/hands-clapping-1024x538.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy are employee incentives important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Impact of Incentives on Employee Performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee Incentives and Motivation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee Incentives and Retention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"hand](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/hand-carrying-team-1024x538.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIdeas for Employee Incentives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Employee Incentives Programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee Incentives Games<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Wellness challenge<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Customer satisfaction competition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"online](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/online-game-show-1024x624.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Team building activities <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Departmental scavenger hunt<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Employee Incentives Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"lottery](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lottery-bingo-1024x538.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"employee](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/employee-award-1024x538.webp\")
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