7 keys to incentivize your workforce

Happy employees are productive employees. To this effect, one of the best means of ensuring employee contentment is through incentive programs — rewards that recognize professionals for their contributions.

While the cost of providing incentives may seem prohibitive to some employers, research has shown that weekly profits can increase dramatically for some companies that have effective incentive programs in place.

With this in mind, here are useful ideas to effectively incentivize your workforce grow company revenue.

Despite the dubious efficacy of employee-of-the-month programs, employee recognition remains a powerful tool in sustaining productivity if executed correctly.

The Harvard Business Review reports that 40% of employees would put more energy into their work if they were recognized more. With this in mind, there are some simple ways to effectively recognize employee contributions, such as hand-written notes from company leadership, periodic gift cards or “lunch-on-the-firm dates,” and social media recommendations for employees who go above-and-beyond.

Although money may no longer be the top reason that professionals accept a position, employees will be more inclined to produce if they are financially rewarded properly for strong performance.

Being paid sufficiently is the type of incentive that gets the competitive juices flowing in most employees, giving them added ammunition to execute their role to the best of their abilities.

Bonuses for attendance and company profit sharing awarded to high-performing salespeople are a couple of ways to financially reward excellence. And while performance bonuses may seem expensive, the average cost of benefits per employee is affected less by periodic rewards than it is for other types of benefits.

The shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic was abrupt, but the need for a more flexible work environment has been in the making for years. Today’s workers know how to use technology to effectively execute their responsibilities, and they know that they do not need an office building or a 9-to-5 schedule to be successful.

Therefore, employees are increasingly balking at work environments that they feel are overly restrictive of their time. The idea of vacation time makes little sense to employees who know that they can use technology to do their job whether on vacation or in the office.

As a result, HBR reports that companies such as HR consulting firm Mammoth have effectively implemented an unlimited time off policy, empowering their employees to do their work on their own terms. While the employee incentive is one factor, the impact on company revenue cannot be understated.

Project: Time Off found that the cost of providing employee benefits decreased by $1,898 per employee when switching to an unlimited time off policy, as companies no longer had to pay liability on unused vacation time.

While travel has taken a hit during the pandemic, travel can again be a poweful incentive once the world gets back to normal.

CNBC reports that millennials prioritize travel more than any other generation, with technology and widespread information making it possible for people to experience other cultures like never before. So while rewarding strong performance with an all-expense paid trip may be pricey for your firm, it is likely to provide a lasting and impactful memory that will continue to drive performance in the future.

According to a Fractl survey, 88% of employees would give heavy consideration to a lower paying job that offered better fringe benefits, such as health, dental, and vision insurance, than a more lucrative job that lacked in this area. And for good reason: insurance is expensive, and employees would rather that their company foot as much of the bill as possible.

When making plans on how to budget for employee benefits, Marla DiCarlo of Raincatcher suggests to take an employee’s salary times a factor of 1.25 to arrive at the total cost of the employee.

Therefore, to incentivize team members for strong performance, offer a benefits boost that increases this factor instead of a straight salary raise. Employees are likely to perceive this as more desirable, even if the end compensation is the same as it would have been for a raise in pay.

There is ample evidence to suggest that people perform better as part of a team, as employees can benefit from the synergies of collaboration. Consequently, it only makes sense to offer some team incentives to further leverage this strength.

Genesis Associates found that 71% of employees preferred performance incentives to be awarded in the form of team travel or getaways. This can strengthen team and company loyalty, reducing the costs associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training.

People take great pride in personal ownership. By incentivizing employees through a stake in company profits, you can create a culture in which employees view company successes as their own personal successes, giving them the motivation to lead and inspire everyone within the organization.

Creating a culture of contentment and pride in the organization is a critical component in ensuring company success. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through employee incentive programs. Despite the up-front cost of employee incentives, the seven ideas listed above can help your company increase revenues to the point where the investment in incentive programs is a comparative drop in the bucket.