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Incentivizing employee work is the best way to maximize productivity. It is also simultaneously the best way to recognize employee contributions and boost employee morale. That is why employee incentives are a key component to team management and creative the perfect office environment. But after awhile, it can be difficult to come up with creative employee incentives that your team actually gets excited about. If you manage a team and are sick of using the same old office incentives to motivate employees, keep reading below. Here are five of the most new, creative and exciting employee incentives to help you recognize your employees.
Schedule A Puppy Playdate
Partner with a local animal shelter to host a puppy play hour at the office for you team. Almost everyone in the world loves animals, especially cute little puppies. Not to mention, animal interactions have actually been scientifically proven to lower stress levels and promote happiness. This puppy playtime and cuddle incentive is also beneficial for the shelter or rescue organization you choose to partner with. They get a chance to show animals up for adoption to working-age professionals who are most likely to adopt a pet. Scheduling a pet therapy event is a great employee incentive that benefits all parties involved. It is an idea not nearly used enough in today’s corporate offices. Why not try it out at yours?
Office Decor Updates
Allot employees a small budget to perform little office updates to the space around their desk. This is one of the most creative employee incentive ideas that allows employees to be creative with their office gifts too. The budget does not have to be much. But, the gesture shows that you value your employees and their contributions to the office. It allows them to create their ideal office environment, which will promote loyalty to your company and your team. No one wants to leave an office they just had redesigned to be their perfect work environment. Grant a small budget to employees for office updates and improvements to creatively incentivize exceptional professional performance.
Team Movie Night
Team movie night is one of the best employee incentives for the whole team. You can rent out a movie theater for a night and invite employees to bring their families to the event. If you have it in the budget, provide free popcorn, soda and candy to attendees too. This is a great team building activity to recognize your team’s hard work and promote the importance of having good office relationships. That is why it is one of the best employee incentives ideas. It is an unexpected and exciting incentive for team members and their families too.
Commute Incentives
You can also give incentives to employees that relate to their work commute. These employee incentives will vary based on how your particular team members get to work. You can offer free bus passes, train tickets, taxi service credits or gas gift cards. These freebies will help your employees save money on work-related costs. That way, they have a bigger discretionary budget to spend on entertainment expenses or whatever else they should choose. It will make your employees happier at work. That will lead to them being more productive and a better contribution to a pleasant office environment and team dynamic. Use this employee incentive when you are running out of ideas to reward employees.
Travel Opportunities
If you want to offer the very best employee incentives possible, provide travel opportunities to valued employees. The most hard working team members deserve a break to rest and recharge. That way, they are better able to come back to work refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to take on the next workload. You can offer sabbaticals to encourage enriching travel. Or, you can provide gift certificates for airline travel, cruise vacations or other vacation packages. This is one of the most exciting employee incentives that team members are sure to work their hardest to get. It will promote a happy, healthy, productive office environment that everyone loves to be apart of. Make sure to offer these travel incentives for employees if you have it in the budget.
Mangers may have a hard time encouraging workers if it were not for employee incentives. Offering high quality employee incentives will make for a pleasant office environment with productive, collaborative team members who are happy to come to work each day. But, employee incentive programs can be less effective if you continue to offer the same employee perks and rewards for years and years. That is why you need to come up with some creative employee incentives ideas to reward great performance. Use these employee incentive ideas detailed above. These employee incentive programs will help you get the most out of your employees, while also helping them to get the most out of their personal and professional lives. Let us know how they work at helping you create the perfect work environment in the comments below.
