Not All Rewards Are Equal: Creative Employee Incentives
The goal of employee incentives is to reward superior performance in the workplace.
Rewards are not created equal. They can take any shape, from paid vacations, extra wages to an occasional lunch or party.
Employee incentives as are different as employees themselves—the best are creative, motivated and ready to solve problems in creative ways.
Developing a reward system for employee incentives should reflect the individuality and diversity of top performers.
The whole point is to provide employees a sense of performance ownership. When hard work results in more money to the company, employees are entitled to share in profits and deserve to gain official recognition for their efforts.
Yes, employee incentives should be celebrated! They set an example to all employees, so they learn how the company rewards high performance. Workers—when seeing the company’s appreciation in tangible ways—will feel he or she is working for reasons beyond just for the good of management. The result is a happier, more diligent work force.
Incentives are one of the most powerful forces within an organization.
When employees are adequately recognized and engaged, they will take less sick days, they are less likely to leave, more flexible and much, much more valuable.
One example: When American Express decided to improve customer service at call centers, the company made an extraordinarily inspired choice for employee incentives.
The credit card giant began offering a new benefits package for employee incentives: higher pay, increased flexibility and more occasions for recognition. Immediately, the newly enthused call center increased productivity, processing calls at least 10 per cent faster.
Incentive programs may seem expensive, at first. However, if done right, an innovative incentive plan—things like vacations and trips—can actually end up being significantly cheaper than a simple gift of higher pay. A cash prize can easily get overlooked, but spend the same amount on a holiday for top performers, and he or she will return to work refreshed, willing and ready to give it their all.
Good employee incentives will pay for themselves: the amount a company puts into a trip returns to them by way of the increased employee performance. A group tour will have excellent employees enjoying themselves in the same place.
Who knows? They could network, build bonds, and may even brainstorm the next great business idea. Consider how many creative ideas happen at a poolside bar…
