{"id":7324,"date":"2013-10-07T11:26:45","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T11:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affinityhrgroup.com\/2019\/05\/employee-incentive-ideas\/"},"modified":"2013-10-07T11:26:45","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T11:26:45","slug":"employee-incentive-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworkplaceadvisors.com\/employee-incentive-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Incentive Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the work we do to help companies enhance their employee engagement programs, we are often asked for ideas on effective but inexpensive employee incentives.\u00a0 While big bonuses and pay raises are nice, there are also many ways to recognize individuals, groups or the whole company without having to spend a lot of money.\u00a0 Here are 10 cost-effective and creative employee incentive ideas for companies of all sizes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Car Wash \u2013 <\/strong>Consider hiring a mobile carwash service to come onsite once a week to wash and detail cars.\u00a0 You can pick up the cost or let employees pay directly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dream managers<\/strong> \u2013 Inspired by the book of the same name by Matthew Kelly, dream managers are coaches who meet with your employees one-on-one, once a month, to explore their dreams and then help them set a path to\u00a0 reach them.\u00a0 The cost is minimal and the results can be profound.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Employee Assistance Program (EAP)<\/strong> \u2013 Offer an EAP program along with your benefit package.\u00a0 EAP services typically include nutrition and health counseling, legal assistance, smoking cessation programs and psychological counseling. \u00a0Inexpensive to offer, EAP\u2019s give your employees resources to help them with a wide-range of issues, usually for free or reduced-rates by outside providers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Errand runner<\/strong> \u2013 Hire someone to run errands for employees during busy times.\u00a0 While the employee will pay for the actual service (i.e., package delivery, dry cleaning, library book returns), the company can pay a part-timer to actually run the errands.\u00a0 This is a small investment that is often greatly appreciated by the workforce.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parking space<\/strong> \u2013 Dedicate a prime parking space for the employee who is recognized each month, quarter, etc.\u00a0 Make sure the spot is right up front and, if possible, have the parking spot labeled to celebrate the employee\u2019s accomplishment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Personal Services <\/strong>\u2013 Hire a beautician, barber, manicurist or masseuse to come to the office once a week to provide their personal services.\u00a0 You can even consider subsidizing some of the cost.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play time<\/strong> \u2013 Bring in a Wii or other play system and have virtual team bowling, boxing or tennis tournaments.\u00a0 Put up a tournament board so that you can keep track of the results over time.\u00a0 Each game is relatively short but the fun lasts a long time.\u00a0 You can also keep fun board games and puzzles in the lunch room ready to be played during lunch and break time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quiet room<\/strong> \u2013 Dedicate a room to quiet time, relaxation or reflection.\u00a0 You can even hire a coach to come in once a month or so to teach relaxation techniques.\u00a0\u00a0 Make it comfortable and welcoming.\u00a0 Let employees schedule to use it on their breaks or when they just need a few minutes to de-stress.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sabbatical leave<\/strong> \u2013 Consider allowing your employees, after five or seven years of service, a month or six weeks off with pay and benefits to pursue a personal interest.\u00a0 It is cost-neutral to the employer in that there is no added cash outlay beyond the pay and benefits the employee normally earns and it gives your other employees time to cross train on the vacant position.\u00a0 And while it may be a burden for the employees left to fill in during the leave, they will be willing to do so knowing their own sabbatical benefit will one day come.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volunteerism Day<\/strong> \u2013 As a reward, allow an employee to pick a cause and dedicate a day or a half-day for employees to give back to the community. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This way, the employee is rewarded by knowing he or she will be able to have the company support an important cause and the team will be able to give back and will learn more about the interests and concerns of their coworkers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you can see, it\u2019s not always about the money. You can even create a competition for employees to come up with the best, cost-neutral, incentive program themselves.\u00a0 Home-grown programs are always more meaningful. \u00a0And remember the most powerful and effective sign of appreciation \u2013 a sincere, personal <strong><em>\u201cThank You.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By Paige L. McAllister, SPHR, Contributor &#8211; Affinity HR Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the work we do to help companies enhance their employee engagement programs, we are often asked for ideas on effective but inexpensive employee incentives.\u00a0 While big bonuses and pay raises are nice, there are also many ways to recognize individuals, groups or the whole company without having to spend a lot of money.\u00a0 Here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - 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