Our working lives quickly become routine as adults - you get up in the morning, go to work, and at the end of a pay period your earnings appear in your bank account, just in time to pay the bills.
When viewed this way, life can seem pretty humdrum, and humdrum certainly doesn’t instil a lot of enthusiasm in the workplace.
What can you do as an employer to motivate your workers and help them to set and reach ambitious goals? Carefully chosen incentives can go a long way.
In order for incentives to be effective, however, you’ve got to choose incentives your employees actually care about. The following incentives can help you to motivate your workers and help them to reach their professional goals.
1. Public Recognition
Everyone likes to feel appreciated and recognised, especially when that recognition is public. This kind of incentive doesn’t have to cost a thing, and it can be most meaningful when it’s unexpected.
You can write about an employee’s achievement in a company-wide email, honour them at a staff meeting, or include a feature about them in a company newsletter. This kind of recognition can be treasured by the recipient, motivate them to continue to work hard, and drive others to earn similar accolades.
2. Bonuses
Financial compensation is always valued, because we can all use a financial boost. You can use financial bonuses in several different ways. First, you can surprise employees with bonuses. While this is a great way to improve the atmosphere in your workplace, it can be less effective than awarding bonuses based on benchmarks.
If you’re trying to steer your employees toward success in certain areas, bonuses can be a great way to achieve your aims. For example, if you’re trying to encourage a sales team to hit a new sales benchmark, promise them a bonus if they reach your pre-specified benchmark. They’ll work extra hard to achieve that goal.
3. Offer Flexibility
Some people thrive on routine, but others associate “routine” with “ruts.” Some managers find that instead of having their workers spend a certain amount of time on the job (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example), they ask their workers to accomplish a certain number of tasks. How and when they accomplish the work is up to them. If they get their tasks done early or late or on the weekend, that’s fine, as long as they do their work and do it well. Some employees love this kind of flexibility, and it can increase their sense of accomplishment when they’ve taken ownership and done it “their way.”
4. Bring Extra-Curricular Activities to the Workplace
You can reward your employees and build team unity at the same time when you bring extracurricular activities to the workplace. For example, you could bring a dance instructor or massage therapist in for the afternoon at the end of a long project. This helps your employees to blow off steam, and they’ll certainly feel appreciated.
5. Contests
Running contests within your company can break up the monotony and give you a chance to reward your employees for their efforts. Contests are especially valued by competitive people, but they can also give quieter employees a chance to shine.
Rewards for your contests can vary substantially. Consider giving out gift cards, concert tickets, restaurant gift certificates, or passes to amusement parks. You could also offer cash incentives, time off, or mobile devices.
Whatever incentives you use, make sure they’re incentives your employees actually care about. Ask for feedback as you go, and watch your employees carefully to learn about their interests and desires. The better you know them, the better you’ll know how to encourage them and reward them. For more information about improving morale and helping your employees to succeed, contact us at Altus Financial.
/logo.png?width=194&name=logo.png){kind=logo}
/exit.svg "exit.svg"){kind=small}
/Altus%20Menu%20v%202%20Personal.png?width=136&name=Altus%20Menu%20v%202%20Personal.png "Altus Menu v 2 Personal.png")
