Variety is the spice of life. We expect variety in our coffee flavors, our nail colors and our TV shows. Workplace team members come in different varieties too — differing ages, geographic areas and even economic backgrounds. With all this variety in the workplace, why do we expect every employee to get excited about the same type of incentive or reward?
We know just how critical incentive programs are to any business strategy. They help rally your team around a common purpose, whether it’s your employees, sales team, dealers or your channel partners. Incentive programs strengthen relationships, build a positive culture, and help develop a growth mindset. All of this has a ripple effect that leads to shattering your business goals and improving your bottom line. But what’s one thing that can erase all this progress? Offering a reward that doesn’t incentivize your team in the first place.
This is where the power of choice comes in. Remember, not all employees are the same. Neither are their motivations. For example, some employees are at the beginning of their career, which means they may be outfitting their first home or welcoming their first child. Their motivations are different than your team members who are well into their careers and might be sending kids to college or saving for a once-in-a-lifetime family trip. This diversity in your team is exactly why a one- size-fits-all approach to incentives and rewards isn’t effective.
What is effective in motivating your team? Points-based rewards programs. There’s research to prove that we perceive awards points differently, which makes them gratifying to receive and more fun to spend. Look for rewards programs that offer a wealth of reward options including:
- Merchandise – Your team can cash in points to purchase popular merchandise like appliances, electronics, fitness and sports, or jewelry and fashion items.
- Gift cards – Team members will enjoy treating themselves to meals from top restaurants, spa services or clothing from a local retailer.
- Experiences and event tickets – Your team can use points to pay for tickets to sporting events, theatrical performances or musical acts.
- Vacations and travel – From hotels to airfare to unique experiences at destinations around the world, your employees can dream up the perfect vacation and redeem their points to pay for it.
- Charitable donations – A popular gift for the team member who has everything is the chance to redeem points to benefit local or worldwide charities.
This begs the bigger question, why not just offer cash as a reward? There’s no doubt cash is the easy answer. It’s easy to give and even easier for anyone to receive. But it’s not effective as a motivator. Cash may be fun to receive in the moment, but that feeling dwindles quickly when the cash is used for everyday purchases like gas, groceries or the mortgage. Cash is transactional, not exciting, and it doesn’t do anything to motivate your team for long-term success. In fact, most people forget what they did to receive the cash in the first place.
Celebrate the success of your team, and the diversity of your team members, by offering the power of choice through points- based rewards. You’ll see immediate results in your team and your bottom line.
Author
Get our newsletter and digital focus reports
Stay current on learning and development trends, best practices, research, new products and technologies, case studies and much more.
