Employee Incentive Programs

Recently, I heard the news about a person working with some multinational company. He was found dead on his desk and nobody noticed that for five days. He was a hardworking guy and so whenever his colleagues passed by his cabin and saw him kind of sleeping, they thought he was taking a power nap. He always used to come early and go late so nobody realized that he was in the same position for five days. On Friday, when the care takers were leaving they asked him to get up and leave. And that was the time they realized that the worker was dead.

You must be wondering what is the connection of this story with employee incentive programs. Well, there is some indirect connection because whenever we think of incentives it's only money that comes to our mind. But we forget that employees are human beings and have some emotional needs that need to be fulfilled. Now I will tell you the later part of the story. When the other colleagues in the office came to know about this incident, they decided not to work very hard as the hard work often goes unnoticed. Now I am sure you will be able to make some connection. The moral of the story is that you must pay attention to your employees in its true sense because not everyone works for money.

Benefits of Employee Incentive Programs

Incentives make an employee feel something more than 'just an employee'. Incentives are one of the ways to tell your employees that you recognize their hard work and appreciate their contribution. A good employee incentive program also motivates the staff to perform good which results in increased productivity and high employee performance. Other colleagues too get inspired from the person who is rewarded with incentives. This also brings the healthy competition in the company. Apart from employee motivation, employee incentive programs also provide them with a sense of content and worthiness.

Happy employees tend to be more creative and that also paves way to an open and productive communication amongst employees. It also increases the company loyalty resulting in employee retention and job satisfaction. All these things result in extra profit to the company. Another benefit of employee incentive programs to companies is that they do not have to hire many people when the same employee delivers more and hence results in reduced company costs. These are some of the benefits of employee incentive plans and ideas that would certainly have the positive effect on their performance.

Employee Incentive Programs Ideas

As I mentioned earlier, money is not the only incentive for staff members. There are many new things you can try when it comes to making your employees feel cherished and recognized. Given below are some of the employee incentive programs examples that you can try to make your employees feet worthy:

Thank You Note: A personalized thank you note says much more than you can imagine and it is certainly one of the best employee appreciation and recognition ideas. Call the good performer in your cabin, say thank you for his contribution and let your gratitude be seen from your body language. Before your employee takes you leave handover a small thank you note and then see the magic.

Trips: Nothing is more refreshing than a small trip or picnic. Take your employees for a small outing at least once a year for minimum two days. This also gives employees an opportunity to gel well together. A break is always known to increase the productivity. So try this one of the great employee recognition ideas and allow your workers to stop working for a day or two and organize an enjoyable picnic for them.

Gifts: This one of the most preferred employee incentive ideas. Well gifts doesn't always mean mugs, pens, and T-shirts. When it comes to employee recognition gifts it means gift vouchers for shopping, wine and dine at plush restaurants, or holidays at exotic places, etc.

Outdoor Meetings: For a change you can take the employees out for lunch, dinner, or coffee and discuss their performance appraisal over a friendly and informal chat. This can give them a feeling of belonging that would make them more secure.

Coupons: You can also think of rewarding your employees with coupons for grocery or traveling etc., that would help them meet their daily requirements. It also shows that an employer understand the needs of his staff and this makes employees feel good.

Concert Passes: This too is a great idea. You can surprise your employees with passes for music concerts, or rock concerts where they can go with their friends and family and have a nice time with them.

With the above ideas on employee incentive programs, you know how to keep your employees happy, creative, and productive. But one thing should never be forgotten is respecting the employees and their labor as that is the only reason behind any successful employer.