Employee incentive programs can range from weekly contests for moving the most product to commission. Many businesses use these programs to motivate, boost morale, inject a little healthy competition in the office and to say “great job!” But depending on how you’re using these programs, it can have a very different effect than you were aiming for. Here are several myths about what employee incentive programs can—and can’t—do.
Boost morale. Perhaps the No. 1 reason companies use an employee incentive program is to boost morale; but odds are that if morale is down within the company, it can’t be fixed with a weekly contest for movie tickets. You might see a quick burst in productivity, but because the real problem isn’t being addressed, the boost will soon run out.
Make you look generous. Employees aren’t fooled. This isn’t an act of kindness on your part; it’s additional compensation for additional work.
Motivate. You’re trying to motivate employees to do a great job, take pride in the company or their work, etc. And, most likely, they will be motivated—to get the reward.
Provide fun or healthy competition. Be aware that when you reward individual work, you discourage teamwork. Not to mention, if all staff work extremely hard in the competition, but there is only one winner in the end, more people feel discouraged than encouraged to keep up the pace. Friendly competition that is fun can be pulled off if the task and reward are small—but pitting your employees against one another typically ends in disaster.
For the full list of myths, click on the source article below.
Source:
OPEN Small Business Forum: 10 Myths About Employee Incentive Programs
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