Be Different or be dead

February 6, 2017

5 simple ways employee incentive programs can work more effectively

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5 simple ways employee incentive programs can work more effectively.

Incentive programs are capable of achieving not only improved operating and financial and performance, but also “fun” in the workplace with an accompanying boost in employee morale.

But there’s a HUGE caveat: to be effective incentives must be driven by the strategy of the organization; they should never have a “life of their own”.

To make incentives an effective tool, follow these 5 rules:

▪️Introduce a strategic filter to evaluate the worth of any incentive proposal. If a proposal can’t pass the strategic alignment test, modify it so it complies or don’t introduce it.
An incentive plan not directly linked to the business plan will create dysfunction and confusion in the workplace.
Incenting sales to flog products, for example, when the strategy is to build intimate customer relationships might make sales happy but it produces zero return on investment as a tool of strategy.

▪️Don’t copy what others do. Me-to incentives are boring and show employees that your not really interested in creating something special for them.
Morph what “the incentive herd” is doing into an approach that ONLY you provide.

▪️Use one-time contests liberally in the workplace. They surprise employees and encourage greater participation. I introduced ‘dumb rules’ contests to identify internal rules and policies that customers hated. It worked; employees had a blast, we made significant progress “cleansing our internal environment” and customer service results improved.

▪️Communicate the achievers far and wide in your organization. You want to maximize involvement and realize the corresponding benefits.

▪️Measure and track the benefits of each incentive program. Learn from how they perform; eliminate the losers and keep the winners.

Avoid jumping on the incentives bandwagon unless you put the discipline in place to reap the benefits.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 2.6.17 at 05:27 am by Roy Osing
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