Incentive programs that workforces truly value, companies can increase productivity, boost morale, and even improve employee retention.

Productivity at a work is a vital part of a thriving business. However, firms may not know how to increase their workforce’s productivity levels. The key is to make your employees happy, as that happiness will be reflected in the quality of the products and services they create. You want to inspire, not pressure, your workforce. But what’s the right way to do it?

The best incentives to increase productivity aren’t always monetary. While people certainly must work to earn wages, a smart employer knows how to make a job fulfilling on an emotional level. People need to feel appreciated for their work and know how they’re contributing to a firm’s ultimate goals. They want to know their work makes a difference in the world. They need acknowledgment for their expertise and to earn the professional respect of their colleagues. Make it possible for employees to fulfill these achievement and self-esteem needs within their job role and you have a powerful incentive to work hard and work well.

But how can you make careers with your organization this rewarding on a personal level? By creating a system of incentives, recognition, and rewards. The best employee incentives to increase productivity are delivered through custom incentive programs, which have the power to motivate, encourage and inspire all members of your organization. Customize and implement your own incentive program and you can increase your workforce’s productivity—and evolve your brand.

How to Develop Strategies and Incentives to Increase Productivity

By understanding what motivates your employees you can design effective incentives to increase productivity. And the best motivation strategies all share the same key features: they incentivize, recognize, and reward. 

Incentivize

The incentives you choose in raising productivity should offer something for everyone because rewarding only top performers don’t work. Instead of following a top employee’s example, these exclusive rewards make the majority of employees feel they have no chance of winning. Instead, make sure everyone is incentivized and will be rewarded when they have achieved the specific goals you’ve set forth. Set strategic, measurable goals and thoroughly explain your expectations. Make sure the rewards are clearly visible and kept in plain sight so everyone remembers what they’re working toward. Follow these best practices and your incentives will get the results you want quickly and raise performance over time.

Recognize

Recognition is important because it shows your appreciation for the work people do, which goes far in humanizing your organization and creating a culture of recognition. It’s how you can show proactive leadership that sets an example, giving employees that good feeling of being seen and thanked. And it gives workers the respect and recognition of other colleagues, who will follow the positive example. 

Make sure your motivation strategy recognizes people on a regular basis and enables them to track their feedback. Recurring recognition enables high performers to win multiple times and increases employee engagement. Because you can never give too much recognition. 

Reward

Finally, your motivation strategy must deliver on its promise of valuable rewards. Granting rewards reinforces the positive, goal-achieving behavior you want to cultivate in your workforce. Everyone within your organization should have the chance to win rewards, and winners will make others want to win, too. This gets everyone working hard on their organizational goals, which leads to widespread progress. Best of all, rewarding employees raises morale and retention. And by working with an incentive plan provider that specializes in creating custom plans, you can reward more people while staying within your budget, which increases your program’s ROI.

How to Put These Motivational Principles to Work

Incentivization, recognition, and rewards go a long way in providing incentives to increase productivity. But how do you use them in practice? Here are some specific strategies you can use to boost employee productivity.

1. Create a Tiered Recognition System: You can spread incentives, recognition, and rewards by creating a tiered recognition system. Create an ascending series of goals. Upon completion of a goal, an employee should earn recognition and rewards. Then, they should be encouraged to set their sights on the next highest recognition tier—which offers an even better reward. This will motivate employees to take on difficult challenges when high-tier rewards come with high levels of prestige and recognition and create healthy competition.
2. Offer Incentives Based on Increments of Time: Another good way to raise productivity is to give recognition and rewards on a regular basis. This way people know they may look forward to these special occasions. And don’t just give out rewards every five or ten years! If you’re in an industry or running a department that has a high turnover, giving people rewards every month, week, or even at the completion of their first week can greatly raise retention.
3. Surprise Them With a Treat: Every now and then give your employees a much-needed surprise. This could be an afternoon of playing team-building games, enjoying an ice cream buffet, or holding an awards ceremony. Don’t do it too often so it remains special. But employees will know, in the back of their minds, that their hard work just might lead to a fun break one day soon.
4. Set Priorities Together: Employees feel valued when you listen to their input and apply it to your business practices. That’s why including them in the process of setting goals for your team can be a strong motivating force that gives them a sense of ownership of those goals. Have regular team meetings where you decide on your priorities together, and pick a deadline for their completion. This also motivates people to come through for their team. When goals are achieved, reward the team as a group.