Every team wants more talented, motivated, productive employees. It would be crazy not to want that. So why do so many companies offer only long-term performance-based rewards, like yearly bonuses?
It may seem counterintuitive, but to nurture a high-performing team, you need more than performance-based rewards. Employee incentives and recognition need to be part of the everyday workplace culture. Sure, 72% of employees say they’re extremely focused on finishing projects and/or achieving goals when they know there’s potential to get rewards for it, according to BHN research. But that’s not the only benefit:
When team members feel more loyal and valued, they tend to perform better — not to mention they’re more likely to stay longer, cutting down on your turnover and recruitment costs. Building out a more robust employee reward program is also important when you can’t afford to give as much to bonuses, big raises, and other traditional performance-based rewards.
Here are some tips for complementing your usual employee performance incentives with other rewards.
READ MORE: 5 Employee Incentive Programs That Work
Hitting big goals or end-of-year quotas is often the ultimate determination for earning performance-based rewards. But what about the other things that your employees do every day that help move the needle? Sales teams, for example, perform better when they’re rewarded for hitting activity benchmarks, such as the number of product demos they give or the amount of time they spend on prospect calls.
Our research also shows that nearly two-thirds (63%) of employees want recognition at least monthly. To help satisfy that preference, you can add smaller activity-based incentives that acknowledge the hard work your team does every day. Encouraging those habits will inevitably lead to better performance — and results — overall.
Unexpected rewards can be even more appreciated and effective than regular, scheduled performance-based rewards. When an employee goes above and beyond, helps with something outside of their usual job scope, or takes extra initiative, recognize them on the spot with a reward like a digital gift card or prepaid card. This shows that you value these additional contributions, even beyond the normal targets and tasks.
To attract truly high-performing and loyal employees, it helps to recognize them as human beings and not just as cogs in the proverbial machine. To do that, it helps to acknowledge important events in both their professional and personal lives. Work anniversaries are an obvious opportunity, especially since you want to encourage loyalty among experienced team members. But consider expanding to celebrate your employees’ personal occasions, such as birthdays, home purchases, weddings and new babies. Rewards for those accomplishments are often more meaningful.
Even if the end-of-year holiday season overlaps with your bonus cycle, it’s still a good idea to make a thoughtful gesture with a prepaid or gift card. More than 70% of employees say getting recognized with a gift at the holidays helps them feel motivated and full of energy for the new year, a 2023 BHN survey found — a surefire way to jumpstart their performance.
If giving both holiday gifts and end-of-year bonuses at the same time is not an option, consider moving your gifting season to coincide with another occasion, such as Employee Appreciation Day in March.
For more insights on engagement programs and performance-based rewards, including what other companies are doing and what employees want, download our latest NAPCO Employee Incentives Report!
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
