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Employee Incentive Program Examples

Sujata Iyer
Giving incentives to employees is one of the most effective ways to get them to perform better, and in turn, take the organization to higher levels of profit. Here are some examples of such programs that you can enforce within your organization.
The happiness of an organization as a whole, lies in its profits. The responsibility of bringing in the profits lies with the workforce of the organization. The responsibility of the management is to ensure the happiness of the employees, which in turn will result in profits, and consequently, in the happiness of the organization.
One of the best ways to make your employees happy is to give them a little something extra, apart from the monetary compensation that they receive. Here are some examples of employee incentive programs that you can use to make your employees happy and keep them from straying.

Employee Incentive Programs you can Enforce

An employee will remain loyal to an organization only as long as he needs the organization and as long as he feels that the organization needs him.
Many people work just for the sake of the money that they get at the end of the month. The day they find something that pays them better, they run to it. However, if the current organization makes them feel important and takes care of the employees' needs, apart from monetary ones, the employee will think twice before considering switching jobs.
Giving employees incentives, apart from monetary ones goes a long way in cementing the employer-employee relationship. Given are some ways in which you can ensure a strong one between you and yours.

Days Off

No matter how much an employee enjoys his or her work, there's no way that he or she will refuse a day off in the middle of the week. You guessed it right. A great way to surprise your employees once in a while, is to give them an off right after the completion of a major project or an assignment. See to it that this holiday falls in the middle of the week.
If a project ends close to a weekend, give them an extended weekend. You can also give them such holidays on and off, when you know that they have been working really hard for something. It will give them a much-needed break and they'll come back refreshed and rejuvenated after the holiday, ready to tackle the work ahead.

Relaxing Zone

Reward your employees by pampering them with a fully equipped relaxing zone right on the premises of the office. We mean a full-fledged room with equipment to indulge and relax.
No, we don't mean the regular smoking zone and a pool table in one corner of a room. We mean a full-fledged room with equipment to indulge and relax.
A gaming room, a spa, a reading room, a workout room, a music room etc. are some of the options that you can explore. Make them available to your employees at all times. They will feel like coming to work and will work better when they know that they can unwind right there in the office building.

Personal Attention

Nothing makes an employee happier than when his boss makes it a point to give personal attention to him or her with regards to simple things like performance or special occasions.
Make it a point to personally go and thank an employee who has performed exceptionally well. Also, wish all the employees on their birthdays or anniversaries or other special occasions in their personal life. This will tell them that their work is not all you care about. They will feel nice about themselves and also about the work that they are paid to do.

Trips and Outings

A great way to have your employees relax, unwind and forget all their work related problems is, to take them out on regular trips and outings.
All the outings need not be extravagant and elaborate. An occasional lunch or dinner outside the office or even ordering in for everyone will work just fine. A movie once a month or even a party now and then, is a good idea.
A picnic to a nearby spot will also work wonders. It will give all the employees a chance to interact with each other even outside of office, and they will appreciate the effort put in by you to do it.

Gifts and Awards

Another very successful incentive program is to give away gifts and awards to employees for their performance.
You can hold a monthly or quarterly event in which you can have some fun and games, followed by dinner and then a semi-formal award ceremony in which you can give awards to the employees who have performed really well in their assigned and designated duties.
Keeping employees happy is the sole aim of an employee incentive program. All the examples given may or may not be feasible to every organization. Select the ones that you can enforce in your organization and see the change that it brings about.