Employee reward programs play a great role in incentivizing and encouraging the performance of the employees with pay and other benefits. Research has proved that money is not the only factor that stimulates employees to perform better.

So, here is what the business professionals and performance experts have to say about the employee reward programs that work for them:

Endow Employee Reward with Learning & Development Programs

Marielle Smith, VP of People, GoodHire says, learning and development programs prove to be the greatest ways that help employees pick up their performance. So, investing in such programs is beneficial for both the employer and employee.

The employer benefits from a highly trained employee, and the employees in turn benefit by working upon their skill set, which makes them feel satisfied followed by being more marketable for future prospects.

Link the Bonuses with the Projects as Employee Reward

Davis Lin, CEO of Client Acquisition Lab works with contractors on a basis. He makes use of the project bonus to provide them with the incentives. An additional employee reward must be there for a contractor in case of successful completion of a project within the stipulated time frame. This motivates him to complete more projects before the deadline.

Share Profits Equally 

Steven Sashen, CEO, Xero Shoes says that they have a profit-sharing program in place. As per this program, the amount to be paid is divided equally amongst all the employees. When the program was introduced and the first payment was released, the company noticed improved productivity and raised employees’ morale.

First Choice on New Jobs for Highest Rated Employees

According to Derek Christian, Owner, Handyman Connection of Blue Ash, they have linked their incentives directly to their client’s feedback. Once a client avails their service, he is sent an email requesting to rate the service they were offered. According to the ratings, the craftsmen who get the highest ratings are given a bonus along with their first choice on new jobs. This makes the craftsmen work hard to delight the customers and get in repeat business and referrals for the company.

An Extra Day Off as Employee Reward

Nate Masterson, Marketing Manager of Maple Holistics believes that when it is about building a compelling employee incentive program, the companies have various tried and trusted solutions available. But most of these are either expensive or are in the form of gift vouchers or cash bonuses.

But there are companies who feel that giving a day off is the best possible way to motivate the employees who finish the tasks on time. Employees can chase these deadlines and avail the benefits before the end of the business year. They can also receive cash-bonus as an employee reward based on industry standards. The employees generally prefer working harder in exchange, in turn, get some free time to spend with their families.

So, each of these employee reward programs centers on the needs of the employees like profit sharing, getting more time to spend with family, or a future in the business. Therefore, the greatest employee incentive programs not always revolve around cash bonuses. Instead, it is the incentives that add great value over the long term.