A good employee is one of the most valuable assets an organization can have. A motivated employee can bring a difference in productivity and overall ambiance.
However, it’s the job of the organization to keep the employees motivated and satisfied.
In a competitive workforce, employees tend to favor incentives and benefits over their basic salary in some instances. So, to keep your employees working in your team, you will need to provide attractive incentives.
You can allow your employee to choose their favorite working hours or places of work while easily tracking their activities with the remote worker time tracking software.
Most companies have a misconception that providing incentives can cut holes in the pocket. However, in most cases, it’s not true. So here are a few ways you can provide your employees incentives.
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Provide the Employees with Better Equipment
Better equipment helps in increasing productivity. So, you can change their squeaky chair or give them an upgrade to their operating system. Providing them with the best equipment will help your employees work to their best potential and help your company.
You can also give them apps that will help them boost their productivity. For instance, you can get them Traqq, a time tracker that promotes ethical employee monitoring. This tool has features that show a person’s most productive hours, allowing them to schedule their tasks efficiently.
Acknowledge Your Best Employee
Motivating your employees has a positive impact on the well-being of your company. When you recognize the employees for their exceptional work, the recognized employees tend to work better than before. Also, it inspires others to elevate their work ethics.
However, this practice should be done according to the traits of the employee. Some employees may like to be recognized privately, and some may want to be recognized by an audience. Keep these things in mind while recognizing your employees.
You can also provide some perks along with the recognition process to the employee. Some best practices are:
- Giving the employees a good parking spot or special merchandise from the company
- Associate something with their name
- Let them choose the food menu once a month
- Let them use a premium office for some determined time being
- Post their name in the company newsletter, forum, or social media
- Describe their achievements before the team
- Put their names on a selected wall
These are just some of the suggestions. You can choose your own idea according to your company’s culture and creativity.
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Arrange a Party
Throwing an office party can re-energize the performance of the employee. It gives them a feeling of being acknowledged and appreciated. Thus, the employee works harder for the well-being of the company.
Aside from various festive occasions like Christmas and Halloween, the management can bring cakes for birthdays. Also, the company can celebrate the anniversary of long-time employees and the achievement of significant goals.
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Extra Vacation Day
Paid day-offs are another way to provide the employees incentives. If you see one of your employees is really struggling with their task or just achieved an important goal, you can offer them a day off against the standard vacation day limit.
This will make the employee shed their fatigue. Thus they will be able to give proper concentration and effort to their job after their vacation time. Having a PTO(Paid Time OFF) policy can give your company major benefits.
Offer Employees Flexibility
A flexible work schedule can come in handy to provide incentives to employees. You can let your employee choose their favored work hours or places to work.
Some employees may feel comfortable working early in the morning; some may find themselves more productive later at night. Scheduling according to the employee’s convenience may increase the productivity of the company.
Also, some may like to work from home due to health or any other issues. If you need your employees together, you can restrict your employees from coming to the office once or twice a day. On other days, they can choose to work in their convenient location.
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Provide Wellness Support
Your employees may feel fatigued working a long time at once. You can bring out a massage chair or some gym equipment to give them some relief from their long tiring day.
When you introduce these services to your employees, they can take advantage of such equipment. Therefore, they can go back to their work refreshed and keep up the good work.
Distribute Coupons and Gift Cards
Coupons and gift cards are other ways to provide incentives. If you give the employees money as a form of appreciation, they may use it to pay for essential items. However, coupons and gift cards can come in handy for fulfilling their hobby or wellness.
You can provide them with gift cards or coupons for any purpose. Some ideas are the following:
- Car servicing or washing coupons
- Library allowance or magazine subscription
- Concert or movie tickets
- House-keeping coupons
- Netflix account
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Scavenger Hunt
You can put up some fun games to boost employee morale. On a slow day at work, you can organize a scavenger hunt for your employees.
This will help your employees in team building. You can hide a gift in someplace in the office and provide clues to find the item. It will give them a break from the monotonous work as well.
Casual Dress Day
Dressing up for the office may be a hassle for some employees. So, you can declare one Friday of the month as a casual dress day.
It will keep the office environment exciting and will give the employees something to look for.
Encourage the Employees to Share about Themselves
Almost everyone wants to express themselves. Every person has their own story and experience to share. The company can provide an opportunity for employees to tell their stories.
The stories can revolve around their pets, unique experiences, or hobbies. It will allow all the employees to know each other better and give them a sense of belonging. Therefore, their loyalty aligns with the company.
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Bottom Line
There are numerous ways to create incentives to reward employees. The goal is to be creative and learn the drawbacks and expectations of the employees. Rather than making it an occasional event, the incentives approach should be a regular or weekly approach.
Incentives make work interesting and make the job bearable. Also, it gives the employees something to look forward to after their honest day of work.