6 Non-Monetary Incentives for Remote Employees That They Will Actually Care About

By Frank Derby

Employee rewards and job perks come in many forms, and coming up with meaningful non-monetary incentives for a remote workforce requires creativity. Here are six of the best ways to recognize the successes of your remote workers—and employees in general.

Non-monetary incentives for remote employees that work

1. Personalized tangible gifts

While trophies and personalized apparel are common perks for in-office employees, many companies don’t extend these same gestures to their remote workers. As a result, those companies are missing out on an effective employee motivator.

Besides creating an atmosphere of friendly competition and recognition for top performers, gifts provide employees with physical reminders of their achievements and the company's appreciation. In addition, gifts serve as work motivators to the employees who receive them and other team members.

2. Workstation support

While remote work offers many benefits to employees, one potential drawback is the cost of creating a home office space. This is an area where businesses can provide a valuable perk to their remote workers. For example, Shopify provides its remote employees with a $1,000 budget for home office equipment, ensuring everyone has an appropriate workspace.

Consider including in your budget ways to help employees get the office furniture and accessories they need to be comfortable and focused when they work from home. Businesses already invest in providing professional environments and ergonomic workspaces for in-office employees, and reap the rewards of increased motivation and productivity. Extending this non-monetary incentive to remote employees is a win-win situation.

3. Celebrate their successes, no matter the distance

It's easy for remote workers to be left out of celebrations and miss out on opportunities for the team and wider business to recognize their successes. This can create a feeling that remote workers are less central to the business than their in-office counterparts. Make sure to announce the recent successes of employees through company emails, newsletters, or social media to reinforce a worker's value to the business as a whole and act as a non-monetary incentive.

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4. Flexible work schedules and time off

Flexible work options are one of the most popular work perks, especially for remote workers. Offering remote employees more control over their schedules adds an additional perk to the job, and also boosts motivation and productivity in the long term. In fact, according to a Gartner survey, 43% of remote workers say that having flexibility with their working hours is the most significant factor in increasing their productivity.

5. Online professional development courses

Giving your employees time off to attend an event or workshop that can benefit their career is a great non-monetary incentive for remote employees. Helping them pursue opportunities that matter to them ensures they will see your company as a place they can build a career.

Similarly, consider getting teams together for in-person group events and team-building exercises to reward their hard work or for reaching an important milestone. Unfortunately, this might not be possible for teams spread across multiple regions or countries. But if you are able to bring employees together, the opportunity for remote workers to build relationships in person can be invaluable for the team.

6. Online one-on-one feedback

Individual feedback and coaching are often overlooked as job perks, but they can significantly impact job satisfaction. Offering constructive feedback to employees helps workers improve their skills as well as gives them a better understanding of your business. In addition, encourage employees to provide you with their feedback on how the business can be improved and to suggest changes that will enable them to improve their output.

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