Your business is only as good as your workforce, so it’s important to keep your employees motivated and one way of doing this is by introducing a staff incentive and reward scheme. There are many benefits to introducing such a scheme, as staff incentives generally –
- Help retain staff
- Attract better staff to you company
- Improve productivity
- Encourage teamwork and knowledge sharing
- Increase staff motivation and morale
Whatever your budget, introducing a staff incentive scheme could pay back into your business tenfold and doesn’t need to cost the earth. While many businesses recognise the contribution of their staff with a bonus at the end of the year, increasing numbers of businesses are looking for ways to motivate staff all year round.
From time off to corporate gifts here are some ideas to get you started…
Staff incentive ideas
Party time
Throw a themed event. It doesn’t have to be hugely expensive, just something to reward your hard working staff and a chance for them to let their hair down. Think sports day, beer and pizza party, movie night, games day or a fancy dress evening…
Vouchers
Use small gifts to reward achievement. Token rewards like cinema tickets, gift vouchers or coffee cards are great ways to say thank you. Bigger achievements can be rewarded with VEX Gift Certificates which can be spent in over 40,000 shops, covering 150 different brands, plus you can even have them printed with you company name and logo.
Discounts
Offer employees and their families a small discount on the goods or services you provide. This is a benefit to both parties and one of the perks many prospective employees look for when joining a company.
Free food
Lay on a free breakfast once a month with all the trimmings – think bagels, muffins, fresh fruit and yogurt. Alternatively, order in some take out coffees to help tackle the mid-afternoon slump or take away pizza if you’ve had a particularly successful week..
Recognition scheme
Ask employees to nominate each other, when someone has done a particularly good job. This way, employees can thank each other for support and going the extra mile, which is positive for team work and will boost morale.
Time off
Something money simply cannot buy. Give your employees the chance to win some time off by producing outstanding results. Allow employees that have children to take ‘family days’ and work from home when the kids are off school. Alternatively give everyone a surprise half day off – why not early on a sunny Friday afternoon and head for an al fresco lunch?
Red Frog Events company claims to have the best employees benefit package in the world, including unlimited holidays. They claim that their positive work culture means the system never gets abused, and provided the work gets done their employees can take as much time off as they like.
Don’t forget to say thank you
It’s completely free, but also very rewarding for an employee to hear when they’ve done a good job. Always remember to give praise where it’s due when there’s a job well done.
Say thank you in person, with a card or even have a ‘wall of thank yous’ where everyone can show their gratitude to those ready to help out.
Liam McClure is a keen blogger with a focus towards business and social media. He is also very interested in the ways that staff incentives can be used to encourage and inspire workers to think deeper about problems faced in their role.
How do you incentivise your staff all year round?
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