Providing incentives for your employee’s hard work is one of the most effective ways to keep your staff happy. Here are a few ways to do so.
As a business leader, one of your biggest challenges is finding and retaining the best talent. Attracting potential employees and convincing them to join your company is one thing, but keeping them happy, motivated, and productive enough to want to stay for a long time is the real challenge.
Providing incentives for their hard work is one of the most effective ways to keep your staff happy. Rewarding them for everything they do shows them they are valued and that their efforts are making a difference. Conversely, if they get no enjoyment from their job and merely see it as a source of income, nothing stops them from leaving when a better offer comes up.
To help you keep hold of your best workers, here are a few effective ways to incentivize employees and take your business to the next level.
Offer flexible working
Our working culture is gradually moving away from the traditional nine-to-five office format. Over recent years there has been a dramatic rise in habits such as home-working, hot-desking, and online collaboration technology. This shows that workers value the opportunity to work according to their own schedule without being restricted by outdated working practices, deadlines, and micromanagement. Every employee is different and has their own life and personal commitments outside of work. The best way to show them they are valued is to give them more freedom to balance their work and home lives. Allowing people to work from home when they need to allows them to visit the doctors, pick up their kids from school or perform any number of important personal tasks they can’t manage while confined to the office. By trusting them to get their work done with a flexible schedule, you show them that you value them and make their lives a lot easier in the process.
Prioritize mental health
In the modern age, it’s not uncommon for office workers to succumb to burnout. Working at the limit of their abilities for eight hours a day can take its toll on their mental health, and it’s your job to look after your staff’s mental wellbeing. Let your team know that their mental health is your concern and that they can talk to you about managing their workload better if they need it. Many companies give employees “mental health days” where they can take time off to give their minds a rest.
Highlight victories
When you accomplish a difficult task or produce a great piece of work, your success is satisfying in and of itself, but it’s also nice to be praised for your achievement. Make sure you show employees that their hard work is valued by taking time to praise and reward the little victories each day. This could be as simple as a “Well Done” in front of the whole office, or you could stretch this to an Employee of the Month scheme or a weekly prize for hard work.
There are endless ways you can incentivize your employees for their hard work, and it’s worth taking the time to figure out the most effective option. If you don’t value your employees and reward them for their efforts, you will struggle to retain the top talent, and your business will suffer as a result. Companies like MTI Events can help you create an employee incentive program that will make a difference.