Best employee incentive program for small business: 14 ways
Knowing what incentive scheme to adopt can be a critical point for any business. It’s easier to get the right scheme in place first rather than have to change it later. So what is the best employee program for small business?
As experts in implementing company-wide incentive schemes by industry, or by departments with OurlinQ incentive scheme, we going to provide you with a list of the best employee incentive program for small business that you can consider starting.
Let’s go through the list of best employee incentive programs for small business…
1. Monetary Incentives:
Monetary incentives can be simple and straightforward – offering employees bonuses for certain achievements.
This is great for small businesses as it both rewards employees and encourages them to reach goals faster, thereby helping smaller businesses grow more quickly.
Monetary incentives can be simple and straightforward – offering employees bonuses for certain achievements.
This is great for small businesses as it both rewards employees and encourages them to reach goals faster, thereby helping smaller businesses grow more quickly.
Employee bonuses are a common type of financial incentives. Companies use incentive schemes to reward performance and show appreciation. These are mainly performance-based bonuses that can be role-focused, team-based, or company-wide, and are usually monetary in nature.
2. Flexible Hours:
Giving employees flexible hours of work allows them to manage their time better, particularly if they need to attend other commitments such as medical appointments or family events.
This form of flexible time can be a relatively easy incentive to implement, and many company’s already include this as part of the employment contract. Often this is flexibility in starting and ending times of the working day.
Offering flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting or job sharing, can help employees manage their personal and professional commitments more easily.
It also provides employees with the opportunity to pursue a healthy work-life balance, which can result in increased productivity and satisfaction.
Additionally, allowing employees to choose when and where they work may help to reduce workplace stress, which can have a positive effect on morale and performance.
3. Paid Time Off:
Providing additional paid time off allows employees to take the occasional break from their work and recharge, while still being paid for it.
This can be a great morale booster and it’s an easy way of showing appreciation for their hard work, particularly if they have achieved a goal or target.
4. Clear Goals and Objectives:
Setting clear goals and objectives for employees helps to keep them focused on their tasks and provides a sense of purpose.
It is important to ensure that these goals are realistic, measurable, and achievable within a set timeframe as this will motivate employees to strive for success.
Goals can be set on a company wide basis based on the industry, or can be implemented on a departmental level. Each of these goals can be financially incentivized.
Here are the three main reasons you need an incentive program to facilitate your company goals.
5. Employee Recognition:
On a simple level, rewarding employees for a job well done is another important factor in motivating performance. This can involve praising employees publicly or presenting awards and bonuses to recognize their progress.
Celebrating individual and team achievements, alongside financial incentives, can also help to build morale and encourage collaboration among colleagues.
6. Career Development Opportunities:
Offering career development opportunities to employees can help them advance within the company and give them a sense of purpose.
It also encourages loyalty among staff, making it easier for businesses to retain talented people in their organization. This can often be in the form of:
- Workshops
- Professional training
- Conferences, and seminars
- Paid courses for certifications
This leads on to a tangetial area which is offering a coaching and mentorship programs.
7. Coaching and Mentorship:
Offering mentorship programs to employees can also be very beneficial in helping your employees to grow and develop professionally.
Offering coaching and mentorship opportunities can help foster a supportive and encouraging environment that encourages growth and development among employees.
A coach or mentor can provide invaluable guidance, knowledge, and advice on how to optimize performance on the job. Experienced mentors offer valuable insight into the industry and learn best practices for success. It also incentivises the mentors too.
Coaches can also help employees identify areas for improvement and devise action plans that will help them reach their goals.
Additionally, mentorship programs provide a way for employees to connect with senior leaders within the organization which can further motivate them in their career development.
8. Performance Reviews:
Off the back of provisions like training and mentoring, we can follow this up with performance reviews.
Providing employees with regular performance reviews can help to ensure that they are on track with their goals and provide them with feedback on areas of improvement.
This will also help them to know what they need to do in order to advance their career.
It is also beneficial to provide employees with regular feedback so that they can understand how they are performing and where they may have the opportunity to improve.
This will enable them to identify areas of growth and give them the tools necessary to improve their performance.
9. Team Building Activities:
Getting together as a team for fun activities is a great way to build trust and strengthen relationships between coworkers.
It also gives employees a chance to get out of their daily routine and engage in something new and exciting, which can reduce stress levels and help them stay focused on work.
10. Remote Work Opportunities:
Allowing employees to work from home or other remote locations can give them the flexibility to manage their own time and reduce stress levels by eliminating long commutes and office distractions.
Many jobs that were traditionally office based have been shown to transfer to remote working fairly easily. The wide availability of Wi-Fi, online tools and communications have facilitated this.
11. Flexible Scheduling:
Allowing employees to have some flexibility with their schedules can be beneficial in many ways and is particularly beneficial in the new work-from-home environment that we’ve outlined above.
Not only does it give employees the freedom to work around their own personal schedules, but it also helps them maintain a healthy work-life balance and reduces stress.
This is different from flexibility of working hours and allows more autonomy in their job.
Offering flexible scheduling options such as part-time or remote working arrangements can provide employees with more freedom and autonomy over their work, making them feel more satisfied and motivated.
12. Wellness Programs:
Providing employees with access to free or discounted health services can help them stay healthy and productive in their roles.
This includes providing health screenings, gym memberships, and other wellness activities.
13. Mental Health Support:
Providing employees with access to resources for mental health support, such as counseling services, can help them work through any issues they may be dealing with, as well as prevent future mental health problems from developing.
14. Financial Assistance:
Providing employees with financial assistance programs such as 401(k) plans, tuition reimbursement, and other options can help ensure that their needs are met and that they feel financially secure in their role.
This can also include, and regularly includes paid health insurance. This can also often extend to close family members in some careers.
Best employee incentive program for small business – Next steps
Providing employees with incentives for achieving goals or extraordinary performance can help to motivate them and keep them engaged in their work.
Whether it’s as simple as bonuses, gifts, training, flexibility, recognition or even a promotion.
No matter what the incentive is, it should be tailored to each employee’s needs and interests based on their role, department, or industry, in order to make it meaningful and impactful.
An incentive program can be hard to manage without the right tools. Here at OurlinQ, we provide an easy method of incentivising employees to ultimately work towards a company’s targets so everyone can benefit.
So contact one of our experts now for a free consultation and demonstration on OurlinQ.
