It’s no secret that we all like to be appreciated at work or on a personal level. Acknowledging your employees’ hard work and their special dates (e.g., birthdays) are simple things that create a highly positive atmosphere within companies. This ultimately creates a sense of community among employees and positively impacts their productivity. More and more companies are looking for solutions to create a system of employee incentives and recognition; We have outlined below 5 key elements for designing an effective program that can generate the motivation for your teams that you need.
5 keys to creating your employee incentives program
1. Define your objectives
You have to trace your north. Map out your goals. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and relevant. For example:
- Encouraging innovation
- Fostering collaboration between departments
- Increasing sales
- Improving talent retention
Your employee incentive plan strategy should also indicate how you will control the management, award attribution, and budget. These aspects are crucial for presenting internally to Management how employee engagement will improve.
2. Attractive incentives
Not all employees are the same; not all employees have the exact needs.
A company’s age, generation, family, and economic situation vary significantly. Therefore, to generate general interest, it is essential to have a broad catalog of varied prizes.
Another aspect to consider is value, not only monetary value but perceived value; You don’t need to have expensive prizes that may compromise the viability of your project.
3. Engages all employees
Allocating rewards to the entire workforce for certain behaviors and actions can be complicated, especially regarding the budget. One solution to this can be to use a points-based program.
Based on the defined objectives, it creates rules for obtaining points and assigns different values according to their complexity or weight for the company. For example, award points for birthdays, completing 5 years in the company, or referring a candidate for a potential job. Depending on the total points earned, employees can then access different reward levels in the catalog.
The actions or behaviors which are most highly valued by the company will earn the most points. The more these actions and behaviors the employee fulfills, the more rewards they will be eligible for. This ensures that even small achievements are rewarded, in this case, with points.
4. Assess the level of management and control required
Managing an incentive program can involve much work in addition to implementation and maintenance costs. If you lack a warehouse, a central purchasing office, and a team that can dedicate hours to your program’s management, communication, and monitoring, then do not do it alone. Hiring specialized companies is the best, most cost-effective, and most efficient solution.
5. Incentives start with communication
Incorporate program details within your usual communication systems and information regarding which behaviors and actions are rewarded. This generates not only awareness but also incentivizes employees to pursue the objectives.
Mentioning the employee incentive program in the selection process is a differentiator for attracting talent and adding value to the company’s benefits package.
Create your dream employee incentives program
Are you ready to take the plunge and create your own employee recognition and incentive platform?
Ask for a demo and learn more about Vip Incentives, our incentive platform based on points, rewards, and gamified challenges.
A turnkey solution where you can:
- Create ad-hoc campaigns for all your employees or specific selected departments or teams.
- Automatically allocate points according either to defined rules or allow points to be allocated manually.
- Control the program’s performance and obtain usage and budget reports in real-time.
- Enjoy access to a wide and varied catalog of awards, including many big brands. The platform takes care of 100% of the communication and delivery logistics.
