Enjoying Employee Incentive Programs

Employee incentive programs are rewards programs in effect inside workplaces that are designed to inspire employees to exert more effort and to provide the assurance that exemplary performance in the workplace always is noticed and rewarded. The need to be motivated using positive reinforcement is one of the many reasons why incentive programs benefiting employees are created.

An incentive program gives employees something to look forward to after a week or a month worth of stress and hard work. However, the reward is only given to the best, and sometimes there can only be one winner. The most common criteria used to base employees during the competition period include their number of absences or tardiness, total volume of sales or if they consistently reach their quota, professionalism, office cleanliness and courtesy.

The reward may come in numerous forms. It usually depends on how generous the company will be and how much they would like to invest on such a tactic. Some companies handsomely reward their employees with cash, an all-expenses paid vacation trip or even a new car. Others with a tight budget to work around offer small gifts, such as meal stubs, mugs shirts and pens.

The programs are planned by the company’s Human Resources department, with the help of some key operations and management personnel. They consider different schemes and modes to determine what strategy would best suit the company. In some cases, management allows their employees to submit suggestions on how the incentive program should be handled. This fosters a friendly atmosphere between the top brass and employees, to make the office a less stressful place to work in.

Money is the most common form of incentive given to employees. However, it is not unheard of for a company to provide non-monetary compensation, such as group dinner, bowling night and other social functions. This also helps the firm cut down on its costs, especially for team rewards.