Employee Rewards: Looking Past the Paycheck

Generous raises have been out of style for a long time. Dark economic clouds continue to hold down budgets for costly wage increases and require creativity to identify other ways to keep staff on board.

That's why non-cash rewards and incentives are a pretty safe fashion bet these days. These options have the added advantage of representing one-time, controllable expenses rather than long-term payroll increases.

Picking Your Prizes

A recent survey conducted by Staples Advantage reinforces the point. According to the survey 87 percent of participants felt that providing employee rewards is more important than ever as a way to maintain employee morale. Nearly one-third said they would take on extra responsibilities in exchange for incentives, and more than 40 percent would scrap the annual holiday party for the extras.

First, however, you need to identify the types of incentives that your employees will find most valuable before you cancel the caterer for a year end celebration. Here's a hint: It'll take more than a big bag full of items covered with the company logo.

Travel is likely to be one of the most popular choices, but a travel-based incentive does not require packing the staff off on a cruise to a tropical island. Weekend getaways or dinners and entertainment closer to home are welcome choices. Tickets to sporting events or health club passes also provide affordable breaks.

A simple survey or staff committee can help you put together a list of the most desirable incentives. The opportunity to choose between electronics and luggage, for example, will appeal to a team that varies in age and includes people at different stages in their lives.

Don't hesitate to get creative when you select these goodies. One group may be excited about cameras, the latest in technology, or even a selection of Hawaiian shirts. If times have been particularly tough supermarket and gas gift cards will hit home runs.

Good Timing -- and Good Taste

But also make certain any selection is appropriate for the audience. I worked for one company where expensive year-end crystal gifts were commonplace. I thought the candlesticks I received one year were beautiful. Yet I was not quite sure what to do with, or how to react to, the expensive Christmas-tree ornament I got the next holiday season.

I'm certain, however, that I gave it away -- it would have looked funny hanging from my Chanukah Menorah.

A good incentive plan is about more than just selecting prizes. It is essential to choose the reasons for the rewards. These can include reaching and exceeding goals, hitting milestones, and putting in extra time for a project or client.

A gift certificate or choice of electronics for five years on the job will be meaningful today for employees who don't expect to be lifers for one company. Gold watches for 25 years of service are found primarily in tales from a grandparent, actually a great grandparent. 

More frequent smaller rewards will go a long way to honor specific achievements beyond sticking around for the longest haul. Spontaneous recognition can provide a quick morale boost. Give everyone coupons for pizza at the end of a tough week, movie passes after a big sale, or gift cards upon completion of a project.

Finally, keep appropriateness on the radar. You don't want to unveil a new incentive program two weeks after a round of layoffs.

Pass along your ideas for creative rewards and incentives and the times and places you have used them effectively.

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Rebecca Mazin uses her experience and talent as a consultant, author and management trainer to create usable solutions for employers to meet increasingly complicated human resources challenges. She is the author of The Employee Benefits Answer Book; An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Business Owners and co-author of The HR Answer Book; An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources Professionals. Follow Rebecca on Twitter @thehranswer.