Employee incentives are a way to reward good behavior, motivate employees to excel, and foster a better workplace atmosphere. Employee incentives come in two forms. First, you could reward an employee with a one-time, unexpected reward, such as a gift certificate, cash, or a travel voucher, given as thanks for exceptional work or for getting through a particularly rough time in the company’s life. Employees can’t plan to receive these types of incentives by reaching certain goals or striving to meet certain criteria. Instead, the incentive-giver must proactively watch for reward-worthy employee acts and recognize the employee for them in a timely manner. Or, you could set up a co-worker nomination system, in which a co-worker recommends a person to receive incentives based on good acts.
Other employee incentives come as part of a company-wide or department-wide program, usually set up to increase business, make sales, better customer care, or reduce accidents or injuries on the job as a way to reduce company costs or increase the bottom line. In this type of program, employees need to know exactly what it takes to earn a reward—whether it’s meeting a certain goal, following specific completion steps, or some other previously outlined process. This type of employee incentive program requires more work from you up front to determine the criteria, set reward levels and the type of reward, and implement the program, but it requires less of you once established. Employees following the steps, they get the rewards. It’s a much less arbitrary system than handing out kudos for a job well done just when you happen to see it being done.