1. Communicate: Find out what employees want and be sure to listen and deliver. If an employee is talking about how they want to lose a few pounds this summer help them along with a GNC or The Vitamin Shoppe® gift card. If they are shopping for a new TV or electronics system a Crutchfield gift card would be much appreciated. Listen to employees wants and needs in order to deliver an incentive with intrinsic value and meaning.
2. Find Incentives that Fit Behaviors: Employee incentives need to fit the behaviors that employees exhibit to earn them. For smaller tasks or projects a gift card would be appropriate, but for a huge project that takes weeks or months of extra work to complete a larger incentive, like lunch with the boss or an extra vacation day provides a more appropriate employee value.
3. Be flexible: Employees appreciate flexibility from their employer, and it doesn't have to cost anything. Offering a floating work-at-home day or a casual office day are incentives that won't hurt your bottom line but will show employees that their organization is mindful of their life outside of work, and is willing to go out of their way to treat employees well.
