Who doesn’t want a pat on the back every now and then? Regardless of age, all people want recognition for a job well done, and people in the business world are no exception. No matter how high your position in a company, you, too, probably want a little acknowledgement when you go above and beyond the call of duty. Not all employee recognition must come in the form of a raise or bonus. There are many ways to reward employees and motivate your staff to work hard besides money.
If you are an employer, you may feel your employees are doing what they are supposed to do, and that the salary they are paid should be incentive enough to keep up the good work. However, in today’s workplace, to retain the efficient and hard-working employees, it is important to view the world from their point of view and fulfill any legitimate demands or requirements they pose. Giving them some incentives and recognition will help.
Here are some employee incentive ideas that will work for just about any type of business:
- Make an effort to learn your employees’ interests and hobbies. When it comes to time to provide an employee incentive or reward, you can offer a gift certificate to the local nursery for your employee who gardens on the weekends. A gift certificate to a book certificate will be appreciated by the avid reader in the office.
- Acknowledge years of service. No matter what size your company is, you should acknowledge your employees’ years of service with a certificate, plaque or trophy.
- Plan an office outing such as a picnic or happy hour when a project is completed. Schedule the reward ahead of time, so the staff knows there is a fun activity planned at the conclusion of the difficult project. Be sure the location of the event is out of the office and is casual in nature. This is a time when the employees can get to know each other.
- Reward employees with good attendance with a paid day off. You will be amazed at how much this is appreciated and how rejuvenating one single day off with pay is to an employee.
- Allow workers to recognize the work of colleagues. You can set up a box in which employees can put nice comments about their co-workers. Read the comments out loud at a staff meeting or put them in the company newsletter. This is a great incentive to keep doing great work because it has been acknowledged.
- Hand write a thank you note. Taking the time to write a personal note of thanks to an employee who did an especially good job will mean the world to that employee and will be an incentive to do even more great things at work.
PaperDirect has a full line of employee recognition and incentive materials.
