Written by Anonymous | Jul 27, 2021 8:58:00 PM
Happy and motivated employees mean much more than just a pleasant workplace. Research indicates that happy employees are more productive than their unhappy peers. They’re also likely to stick around longer. Conversely, unmotivated employees are extremely costly to businesses. One Gallup study determined that disengaged employees cost companies a staggering $300 billion in lost productivity annually.
The imperative for business owners looking to curb attrition and improve performance? Employee happiness and motivation matter. All of which begs the question of how to motivate your business staff. Read on for five employee incentive ideas aimed at cultivating happy and motivated business employees toward a better bottom line for you.
1. Applaud attendance and loyalty
When your business is short-handed, service is likely to suffer. But that’s not all: A consistently understaffed business may also lead to low morale and, ultimately, attrition. Creating an attendance-based business employee reward system can motivate employees to show up as scheduled, thereby minimizing call-ins and absences.
Rewarding loyalty is also important. Is there a particular employment milestone you’re looking for staff to reach? Rewarding employees who meet this benchmark can motivate others to stay.
Keep in mind that while cash awards are always appreciated, other awards, such as paid days off and flexible schedules, also have value.
2. Implement team and individual incentives for performance
Wondering whether to set staff incentives according to team or individual incentives? There are pros and cons to both. While the former motivates staff to work together toward a common goal, the latter lets business celebrate their highest-achieving employees while facilitating competition. Implementing a mix of team and individual performance incentives is a best of both worlds’ solution.
Again, while monetary awards are popular, there are less costly (and even free!) ways to motivate and reward staff for their performance, such as by assigning them preferential parking spots. Post a thank you note on their door in their honor. Write about them in a company-wide email or invite them to a one-on-one lunch.
3. Establish short term goals
How can your staff know whether they are meeting performance expectations if you haven’t provided clearly defined goals? While long-term goals may make sense from a management perspective, small, short-term, and achievable goals work well for empowering and motivating business staff.
But goal setting isn’t just about letting employees know how they’re doing. It’s also a motivational tool in and of itself. Setting specific and challenging goals (and providing appropriate feedback) directly correlates with better task performance.
4. Acknowledge their efforts
Praise seems like a natural extension of establishing goals and implementing performance incentives. However, many business managers and owners fall short when it comes to offering staff the positive feedback they crave. Positive feedback is a logical motivator of performance and yet praise is painfully absent. Not only that, but it costs you nothing.
The takeaway for business owners and managers looking to keep their employees motivated with business employee incentives? Because of its power, ridiculously low cost, and rarity, praising employees is one of the greatest lost opportunities in the business world today.
5. Show them their value
Speaking of showing them you care; today’s workers are looking for more than a paycheck. They’re also looking to be part of something. Giving employees a voice helps them feel connected, valued, respected, and engaged. There are many ways for businesses to do this and create a win-win situation, including offering professional development opportunities such as training courses to help with employee advancement.
Staff retention and poor employee performance are major pain points for businesses. However, they don't have to be. Investing in employee happiness and motivation by adopting these five incentive tips is also an investment in the comprehensive well-being of your business.