Making Sense of Incentives
7 Steps for a Successful Incentive Program
We all know a passionate business owner when we see one. They live and breathe their business and because of this, they are often successful too. But here’s the million-dollar question, how do we get our staff to share the same passion and buy into our business mantra?
The truth is, most employees will not have the exact same level of passion for your business as you do. Remember, some people are built to be leaders and owners and others prefer to be followers or employees, but without each other, we wouldn’t have dynamic teams. This doesn’t mean you can’t have passionate employees, it just means you have to find what’s going to work with your business, structure and management style.
Yes, there is the ‘scream in your employee’s face daily and tell them to care’ approach, but we all know; that’s highly inappropriate, unethical and most importantly; ineffective. So, let’s explore some other options.
Incentive programs are a great way to build engagement, enhance performance and get your staff to ‘buy in’ to your business. But, how do you ensure that these positive effects last long term? AND, how do you make sure they don’t burn a hole in your pocket?!
To start, let’s take it back to basics. According to Cambridge Dictionary, Incentives are defined as, “Something that encourages a person to do something”. Before you start to think about what kind of incentives you are going to use, first determine why you are implementing this program and what behaviour you are trying to encourage - find your ‘something’
7 Steps for a Successful Incentive Program
1.Assessment
Management needs to determine that the performance levels are inadequate because of a shortfall in motivation.
Assess the differences between company goals and the employee performance.
2. Performance benchmarks
Reward for performance model gives each person the opportunity to earn awards by surpassing attainable performance benchmarks.
3. Sense of Value
Participants need to feel that the program provides a sense of value that contributes towards both their personal and company objectives.
4. Training
Make sure each participant has clear instructions in how to achieve their objectives to receive the reward.
5. Support
The organisation needs to put careful attention to the way the rewards are given. There needs to be a clear distinction from ordinary compensation and the reward. Participants must believe that the organisation will support their performance goals and provide the incentive rewards fairly.
6. Emotional Appeals
The biggest performance gains come when people become emotionally engaged. Have more than one incentive program in place to give all your employees a reason to be thankful they work for you. For example, learning opportunities, flex hours and remote workdays, company events etc.
7. Analysis and feedback
The incentive program must be analysed against the performance objectives and costs. For some incentive programs, a start and end date are important. This provides the opportunity to obtain the feedback to see if the program is working and if any adjustments need to be made for the future programs.
The success of your employee incentive program depends on getting buy-in from your employees. Employees are more motivated when they feel their opinions matter and their voice is heard.
Incentive programs are a great way to keep your employees motivated, performance high and increase the overall profitability of your business. At Steps 2 Success, we believe in finding the tools and strategies needed to help unlock unlimited potential to help you, your business and your team not only survive, but thrive too.