
You might think that salary alone is enough to encourage people to feel motivated at work. But, there also needs to be other incentives for staff to perform at their best the majority of the time. You also need to offer incentives to promote creativity and new ideas. And, of course, to keep staff turnover low!
If you do a quick Google search, you’ll come across hundreds of ideas for staff incentives. The trouble is, many of them won’t apply to your business. So, how do you know which ones are the best to use in your company? Here are 5 fantastic employee incentives you need to start offering to your staff today:
Advanced training
You will no doubt hire your staff because they have the skills necessary to carry out their roles. But, those people will almost certainly want to extend their skills set. Let’s face it; they aren’t going to do the same job forever!

By SuperJet International (SSJ100_training_class_1) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
One way to keep hold of your staff is by offering them training incentives. For example, they could embark on Microsoft courses from Training connection.com. Or they could learn skills in roles they wish to pursue in the future. Training doesn’t just empower your employees. It also makes them even more valuable assets to your company.
Pay them a bounty for ideas that help your business grow
We all know that people are the reason for a company’s success. You and your co-founders will have come up with the ideas for your business. But, what sets successful firms apart from the competition is creativity. Or, rather, the way they always come up with new ideas!
You might not think it. But, the people that work for you will have plenty of ideas on how you can grow your business. If they come up with actionable concepts and steps, you could give them a “bounty” for their ideas!
It might be something as simple as a change to packaging designs on your products. Or it could be a new way of carrying out certain operational tasks.
Flexible working hours
One of the incentives you can offer that won’t cost you a dime is flexible working hours. Flexitime, as some people call it, is growing in popularity. Take a look at this article over at inc.com on how flexible working hours makes staff more productive!
Create an entertainment room in your office
All of us need to blow off some steam now and then. Some of us might follow unhealthy pursuits like smoking outside of the office. Others might resort to being horrible to those around them!
One way of helping stressed workers to unwind is by giving them an entertainment room! It could have anything from games consoles to cable TV in it. In a nutshell, it’s a room that lets your staff forget about work for a while. Visit myturnstone.com for some ideas!
Encourage fun working policies
The workplace has evolved from the typical corporate center with suits and firm handshakes. These days, letting people be more casual helps them to be more creative. And that is an incentive in itself to work for a particular company.
Think of ways to encourage your working environment to be more fun. It helps staff to feel more creative and productive in their work.