Newsletter
June 2022 Newsletter
Employee Incentive Ideas for Small Business Owners
Do you have a reward program in place for your small business? Studies show that staff are motivated by incentives and feel valued when they are recognised for their hard work. With the stress of the past two years and its impact on small businesses, staff members have adapted to changes within the workplace, working from home, and managing the restrictions placed on trades services, hospitality, and retail. If you are yet to implement a reward or incentive program within your small business, now is the time to show your staff just how much you appreciate their hard work.
Benefits of Staff Recognition Include:
- Improve workplace culture and job appreciation
- Improve employee relations and employer to employee relations
- Improve self-esteem and confidence within employees
- Encourage staff to set goals and targets and achieve them
- Increase workplace productivity and earning potential
Staff incentives and rewards come in various shapes and sizes and can bring an array of benefits to your business. From a boost in morale, to providing your staff with goals and motivation, here are just some of the ways you can excite your staff and reignite their passion for the work they do.
Awards
Whether you are a five-person business or a 25-person business, implementing an awards system is a simple way to recognise those who put in the extra mile at work. Depending on your business, you could opt for a simple platform such as employee of the month, or employee of the year. If you would like to hold a special awards night at your Christmas party for example, you can hand pick awards that suit your industry. The awards can be voted on by their peers or hand-picked by you.
Lifestyle Rewards
If you have staff who have been working hard on a project, or they have achieved their goals, rewards that support healthy work-life balance are always well received. These rewards set the tone that balance is important to you as a business and that they deserve some time to wind down. These rewards could include time off work, a voucher for an experience or something of their choice.
Training & Education
If you have a staff member who is wanting to expand their education and skillset, you may want to implement a program which allows them to achieve their goals while maintaining their employment. While you will have a set of guidelines surrounding this, if the training will improve your business processes and enhance the skills they bring to the business, you may want to offer a partial or full reimbursement to support their education and career progression.
Bonuses
Having the potential to earn an annual bonus is a great incentive for any employee. If you are able to set goals and targets and align a financial bonus with these, staff will be motivated to achieve this with the goal of receiving their bonus. If this bonus is scaled per their targets, the incentive and motivation will be even greater as their earning potential increases.
These are just a few ways that you can support and reward your employees with incentives and recognition. To create a reward or incentive program for your business consider asking your employees what they value most and how they would like to be incentivised to achieve their goals and targets. A short staff survey can allow you as an employer a great insight into how they would like to be recognised for their work and what motivates them to reach their goals in the workplace.