Employee Incentive IDEAS Small Business
The most expensive thing you can do is to lose valuable employees. Yet you are in a competitive workforce with an upcoming generation that tends to weigh benefits and incentives more than salary.
How do you offer incentives that attract and retain employees without blowing your budget?
Here are 25 ideas:
1. Say “thank you” when employees do great work.
You can say “thank you” with a card, a handwritten note, a bouquet of flowers, or a gift card to their favorite restaurant.
Send a note to the employee’s family, letting them know how valuable they are and what they’ve done that makes you appreciate them so.
2. Make sure they’re using the best equipment.
Get your employee an improved desk or chair. Make sure their computer or monitor aren’t lagging behind others.
Get them the best equipment you can afford so their job is easier and more comfortable to do. Tell them you want to know if they think they need an upgrade, or if they hear of equipment or technology that would make their job easier.
3. Honor your best employees publicly.
Public recognition is a great way to honor your employees. You’re telling them “thank you”, but you are also letting them know that you want everyone to know how thankful you really are.
Whether you have an employee of the week (or month) program, or simply want to honor great work, you might want to:
- Roll out the red carpet. Give that employee the best parking spot, or a special coffee mug.
- Name something in their honor. Temporarily name the conference room after them, or some other room or location in your business.
- Give them first choice in food. Let them choose who will cater a special once-a-month employee lunch.
- Give them your office. Let them use the best office (your office, the boss’s office) or any room of their choosing, for a day.
- Mention them to the public. Note the employee and what they’ve done in the local paper, the company newsletter or publication, the website, or the radio.
- Tell the rest of the team. Mention the featured employee, and what they did, in front of the rest of the group, and encourage a round of applause.
- Create a wall of fame, one that stays up all the time. Ever been to a coffee shop or bookstore where employees there write down their recommendations or thoughts on a form, and they are posted for customers to see? Give your wall of fame winners a chance to do the same. Post their photo, and what they did to get the honor.
4. Create an unassigned office that is amazing.
Set up an office with a great view, fantastic chair, comfortable desk, and any other amenities you can think of. Designate this office for no specific person, but instead, as a reward.
5. Throw a party.
Have a meal brought into the office periodically, or throw surprise pizza parties. Have a celebratory cake for special events, like birthdays or when a huge project is completed.
6. Give them an extra vacation day.
Give your employee a paid day off, one that doesn’t count against the standard vacation day limits you might have in place. It may be in the form of an agreement, or a “free day pass” that they can use whenever they want to.
7. Give them double time.
Give your employees the option to choose a day when they want to double their breaks. So, instead of just 30 minutes for lunch, they can take an hour.
