50 Employee Incentive Ideas to Reward and Motivate Your Staff
Employees who don’t feel recognized enough are twice as likely to say they’ll leave the job in the next year. So, how do you make your team feel appreciated and motivated to stay? Here are 50 employee incentive ideas you can try to reward your staff and make them feel valued.
50 employee incentive ideas you can try
1. Coupons and gift cards for online shopping sites
Online shopping has become so popular, especially in the middle of a pandemic when transportation is restricted. That’s why coupons and gift cards for e-commerce sites such as Amazon would be a practical idea to incentivize your staff.
2. Company goods/merchandise
It’s now very common for businesses to make T-shirts, mugs, or merchandise with the company’s logo on them as gifts. This approach builds employees’ pride and loyalty while spreading the company’s reputation.
3. Gym membership
A gym membership would be a perfect reward for health-conscious employees. This will also encourage your team to exercise more and improve their health.
4. Team meals
After long hours working on a project, nothing would be better than something that goes straight to the stomach.
5. Birthday celebrations
A good company will never let their employee’s special day pass by without a small celebration. How about a surprise gift for your employees on their birthday? Or a happy birthday card? This would mean a lot to many employees.
6. Free coffee/breakfast
A nice breakfast or coffee cup can give a boost to the start of employees’ day.
7. Work from home days
Employees working from home can save commute time, parking fees, lunch expenses, and so on. Granting your employees a few days to work from home also allows them to choose where they want to work.
8. A half day off
A half day off allows your employees to rest, feel less stressed, and maintain their motivation to work.
9. Spa days
Who wouldn’t want a nice spa day after long hours of hard work, right? This is no doubt one of the greatest employee incentives. Their tiredness from work would be rinsed off right away.
10. Paid vacation
What’s greater than a paid vacation after a big project? Your employees can rest, relax, and enjoy their vacation however they want.
11. Custom goods
A phone case or a mug made specifically for your employees, with their names on it, shows that you care about them individually.
12. Netflix or Disney+ gift cards
In the age of digital, watching exclusively released movies or series through these channels has become too popular. Rewarding your employees by sending them gift cards is no doubt one of the most realistic employee incentive ideas.
13. Movie tickets
A pair of movie tickets for your employees to watch with their friends, family, or loved ones is a classic way but has never got old. Simple but interesting, isn’t it?
14. Spotify or Apple Music gift cards
Listening to music from authorized sources is now a nice entertainment source. Instead of letting your employees bear this little expense, why not give them gift cards as a small reward? This is again one of the most realistic reward ideas.
15. Thank you video
A simple thank you video for your team costs nothing but your dedication. This clearly states that you as a leader deeply appreciate your team effort.
16. Hall of fame
Using a part of your company hall to write each employee’s name on it would make your employees feel so proud and special. As their names are stamped on the hall, every one of them is a big piece of the organization.
17. Taxi credit card
A taxi credit card allows your employees to save transportation expenses, which many will love.
18. Concert tickets
Purchasing tickets for your employees to go see the artists they adore could make them so happy.
19. A day at the salon
Getting your employees a day at the salon to refresh their looks is never a bad idea.
20. Monthly awards
Setting monthly awards for your employees motivates both the achiever and the rest of the team. This increases your employee’s job satisfaction and performance.
21. Meal delivery
A delivery meal paid for by the leader shows how generous you are, and is a great employee incentive idea to uplift your people’s day!
22. Phone bill for a month
Covering your employees’ phone bills for a whole month is definitely a useful reward.
23. Company stocks
Investing in stocks is a great way to reward employees with huge achievements. Rewarding your employees with some units of your company stocks shows they’re an important part of the company. This requires careful consideration, though.
24. Special health care package
Health is the most important thing to a human being. A special health care package for your employees should be on the most prioritized list of incentives.
25. Free tickets to art shows
Observing art is a delicate hobby. This unique experience would be an interesting idea, especially for the artistic people in your company.
26. A personal compliment
An honest compliment directly from the company leader to an individual is a meaningful thing you can do to acknowledge your employees’ efforts and encourage them to keep making progress.
27. More break time
Your employees can choose a day to have more break time than usual. For instance, instead of a 1-hour lunch break, they can have a 2-hour break.
28. One-day cooking class
Ever thought about something unusual like this? A new and exciting activity could be a great choice to reward your employees.
29. Laundry service
Laundry service is one of the most essential expenses of many people. Your staff would be so grateful for this.
30. Car wash
This is a practical employee incentive for those who own cars. If they use other vehicles, you can give them bus tickets or bike wash instead.
31. Gasoline vouchers
Well, there’s no argument for how crucial this kind of expense is. Some vouchers for free/discounted gasoline are definitely a practical option.
32. Occasional gift boxes
Who doesn’t love gifts? Gift boxes for New Year or special holidays are great rewards that will certainly cheer up everyone.
33. Sporting event tickets
These would be an amazing incentive for the sports fans in your company.
34. Personalized moment for new milestone
A cake to mark your employee’s important milestone at your company, why not? Needless to say, this shows your deep appreciation for their dedication.
35. Budget for employee’s personal vacation
Sponsoring a part of your employee’s personal vacation is one of the most attractive rewards ever. A huge prize for their nonstop dedication is totally worth the penny.
36. Less work hours on some holidays
Reducing a few hours of work on some holidays such as Black Friday or Valentine’s Day can be a thoughtful reward. Your staff can enjoy those hours and do whatever they want on these special days.
37. Team dance lessons
An activity to reward your team and at the same time improve team bonding, there’s no reason not to try it!
38. A tour to a new local restaurant
Supporting the locals and letting your employees taste new food, who wouldn’t want that? New restaurants usually have opening discounts as well.
39. A funny reward
This could be a funny award title, a humorous souvenir, or a funny certificate. This gives everyone a great laugh and lightens up the atmosphere of the workplace.
40. Team paintball day
Nothing brings more joy than a team paintball day. Your employees can relieve stress and increase their bonding through this activity.
41. Cookies
A simple way to a person’s heart. Some cookies to show your appreciation to your staff, why not?
42. Team camping
Spending a whole day to camp with your team is wonderful. Blending in with nature after a long period of working can refresh a whole person’s soul. Plus, this also brings your team closer together.
43. Happy hours at work
It could be a snack time every day from 3 pm to 4 pm. A small break time with some free snacks after long hours of working is a simple, yet one of the greatest employee incentive ideas to reward your staff.
44. A simple appreciation act
Don’t be shy to show your appreciation to your staff through body language just because of your position. A tap on the shoulder for their great work speaks more than a thousand words.
45. Show recognition and acknowledgment publicly
It’s important to show everyone else in the company how much you appreciate certain employees’ efforts and achievements. You can mention their names in meetings, give them a nice parking spot, or let them choose what to eat for a team lunch.
46. Create a dream workspace
You can fill this space with a fancy desk and chair, as well as top-notch amenities such as an in-office exercise area and snack bar. Anyone with achievements and contributions can have opportunities to sit and work in this fancy space for one day.
47. Funny and thoughtful memes
Besides giving gifts, you can also send funny and thoughtful memes and congratulations to your employees on a team messaging app. This can really make someone’s day!
48. Ask what they like
Simple, yet effective. You don’t always know what your employees want. And it can be a waste of time and money to give them what they don’t need. Ask them what they like and give them that reward if it’s reasonable.
49. Yearly awards
Besides staff-of-the-month, your company should definitely have staff-of-the-year as well. This motivates the excellent employees in your company and encourages others to do the same.
50. End of year ceremony award
This employee incentive idea has become a should-have for any company. It’s a chance to look back at what your business has achieved in the past year and all the staff who’ve contributed to those achievements. This is a big appreciation ceremony for your staff. On this day, they can dress up and party at a fancy place.
Rewarding your staff shows how grateful you are for their hard work and motivates them to perform better in the future. Try these employee incentive ideas out, give your staff the most exciting rewards, and see how they react!
