Providing employees with the right incentives will help to coax the right behaviours from them. Even if the thought of a reward isn’t foremost in their minds when they’re completing a given task, handing out perks every so often can create a positive atmosphere. Creating a culture in which every employee has a stake in the prosperity of the business, or at least feels rewarded for their part, is essential for sustainability. Of course, you’re likely to work that much harder if you know that your reward correlates directly to the value of your labour – for example, a commission on the sales you’re making.
Naturally, cold hard cash provides a tangible motivation. But there are other ways to reward hard-working employees. Let’s consider a few of them!
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Treat them
If your employees have collectively achieved a significant milestone, then it’s worth pulling out all the stops. For example, treat them to a stay in one of the best serviced apartments that London has to offer or to a seven-course tasting menu in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Hand these out consistently and you’ll see benefits in the long term. For example, if there’s an consistent and extravagant reward at the end of a busy and stressful period, then you can be fairly sure that this will focus minds when the next busy and stressful period rolls around.
Pamper them
You don’t need to splash the cash to treat your employees. A trip to a spa might help them to relax, and actually increase productivity – but paying for on-site office yoga, or a masseuse, might help them to unwind in much the same way.
Recognise them
Where employees have done a good job, they should be singled out for praise. This might mean taking ten seconds out of the next meeting to announce your appreciation of someone in particular, or it might mean posting a note on the noticeboard thanking a department for meeting its particular targets.
Give them responsibilities
Everyone in your business wants the opportunity to progress and better themselves. Allowing a high-performing employee into a position of power, even if it’s not a permanent promotion, will give them the chance to demonstrate their value. Moreover, it’ll demonstrate to other employees that progression can be rapid if performances merit it.
Give them a long-term perk
Spending hundreds of pounds on a single employee on a night out might be showy – but if you back them up more consistently, you might find that you actually save them more money in the long-term. If employees consistently pick up a coffee on their way to the office, then why not pay for those coffees? The average person spends an enormous amount in cafes, and if you can dent this figure, you’ll be doing them a huge service. You might even invest in a fixed coffee machine on the premises.
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