Attracting Top Talent: The Employee Incentives & Benefits You Have to Offer
The competition for top talent has never been more intense—and what employees expect from their employers is changing fast. While traditional benefits like salary and healthcare still matter, today’s workers want something more: meaningful work, modern workplace culture, and personalized incentives. To attract and retain top performers, organizations must offer a comprehensive value proposition that meets employees where they are.
What Incentives Do Employees Want?
Delivering employee incentives can only be effective if the incentives available are satisfying to employees. Here are a few popular employee incentives according to a new
Wicke's For Business article.
Travel Packages: Sending employees on a trip for a job well done on a big project, or as part of a bonus is becoming an increasingly popular option for employers. It creates a memorable experience for employees and carries a fixed cost for employers.
Gift Cards: Gift cards to popular retailers such as
CVS/Pharmacy,
Boston Market and
Crutchfield carry the same flexibility of cash but have better trophy value. Employees are more likely to use the gift card on a special occasion, rather than cash bonuses that often get rolled in to paying bills and household costs.
Social Rewards: Giving public praise and socializing employee rewards is a great way to reinforce desired behavior. Public praise does not only reward one employee for a job well done, but it shoes other employees what management is looking for in employee performance.
Professional Development Boosts Employee Morale
Employee morale can dip at the end of the summer, so around this time of year it is important to make sure you support morale around your office to maintain productivity, retention rates and general workplace happiness. Professional development can be a great way to shake up the day-to-day office routine. Professional development also serves as a morale booster because it shows employer commitment to the workforce. Investing in employees' skills and ensuring they have the latest training in their field is a great way to show you are committed to their professional development now and into the future. If you commit to the well-being of your employees, they will feel greater loyalty and satisfaction at their job and it ensures the well-being of your organization. Check out the infographic to learn more about how professional development can boost morale at your office.
How to Implement Effective Employee Wellness Programs
Implementing employee wellness programs can save your organization money in both employee absenteeism and employee productivity, and can help control costs of health care benefits. Here are a few ways to ensure the implementation of your wellness programs is successful.
Make Sure the Program Is Comprehensive: Make sure your health and wellness programs focus on all aspects of employees' everyday lives. Build a community of wellness, focusing on every day areas of concern like exercise, healthy eating and stress management. Build community by creating an office running club, softball league or weight loss group.
Engage Employees: Center your wellness programs around results, while engaging employees into the program. Ensure employees set goals, whether they are weight loss related, fitness related, or focused on healthy eating (does anyone really
need that 3rd cup of coffee?). On the other side, reward employees for reaching their goals, or for investing themselves in the program. Small rewards like small denomination gift cards to healthy retailers like
GNC or CVS/pharmacy will be a treat for employees, showing them that their employer cares for their well-being and wants to help them down the road of healthy behavior.
How to Foster Employee Loyalty
Compensation: Compensating employees can take many forms, and in order to foster employee loyalty compensation should extend beyond a paycheck. Standard payment is important, however finding innovative ways to compensate employees will help maintain loyalty among your workforce. Using spot rewards, like small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
CVS/Pharmacy,
The Cheesecake Factory and
The Limited is a great way to show employees you noticed extra effort on a specific project, or appreciated them staying late one night.
Environment: Creating a comfortable environment where goals are clearly stated and communication is clear between peers and from managers to their team is key in creating a culture of loyalty. Working hard and having fun as a team will form relationships and camaraderie that foster loyalty, job satisfaction and improved productivity.
