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Employee Incentive Programs

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What are employee incentive programs?

Employee incentive programs are a form of human resources management to improve employee retention. For example, making a commission is an incentive for a sales team to close more deals and surpass performance metrics. Another example is increasing salary annually so that employees feel rewarded for staying with a company.

Why are employee incentive programs needed?

Employee incentive programs structure the use of rewards and recognition to reduce employee turnover rates. These programs exist to boost morale, and they can improve employee engagement, performance, workplace relationships and the financial security of team members. Employee incentive programs can include career development opportunities, education repayment, profit sharing, and more. 

Employee incentive programs examples:

Recognition for commitment

  • Work anniversaries: Create a reward system for work anniversaries and announce them to the whole team! For example, you can give employees a bonus for every year worked and a giant balloon so everyone in the office knows. 
  • Behavior bonus: Consider having an incentive program for good behavior, like a bonus for perfect attendance. Depending on the team, there can be a bonus for a certain task done. For example, a reward for the QA tester who identifies the most bugs every month. There can be a leaderboard to motivate team members to compete.

Work environment 

  • Pet-friendly offices: Being able to bring your dog to work is a huge benefit to pet parents! Even those without pets will perk up to see a friendly, loveable pooch in the office. 
  • Free breakfast: Energize your team with free breakfast once a week, or if you have the means to, every day! This is a great way to bring people working in different departments together.

Professional and personal development

  • Education fund: Support your team in learning skills that help their career. Set up a fund to reimburse the cost of educational books, courses, or workshops. The more your team members learn, the more they can apply that knowledge to their role.
  • Gym memberships: Encourage your team to take care of their health with a free gym membership. This can even help your company cut the costs of medical fees.

Regular team socials

  • Company retreats: Travelling together is great for building relationships and create lasting memories. Bonus points if your team members can bring a plus one to work trips.
  • Holiday parties: Rent out a nice place for a holiday party so your team can wine and dine together. Pack the events with entertainment and make sure everyone has a great time.

Compensation add-ons

  • Profit-sharing: When employees see themselves as owners of a company, this motivates them to work harder in order to improve profits.
  • Lifestyle benefits: Purchasing benefits for your team shows that you care about their financial well-being and improves retention. These can range from retirement benefits, parental leave plans, or health benefits for team members to stay for over a year.

 

Cost repayment

  • Travel reimbursements: Team members who commute to work spend more time and money on travelling than remote workers. 
  • Company-specific deals and freebies: Depending on what your company specializes in, you could offer team members discounts and freebies in that category. Alternatively, you can partner with a company for discounts, for example, a specific % off Apple products.
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