The most important asset to your company is a valuable employee. And the most expensive thing you could possibly do is lose that employee. So, what employee incentives can you offer to try and retain those great staff without completely blowing your budget? Here are 11 employee incentives to get the ball rolling:

1. Reward and Encourage Them

Say thank-you to your employees when they have done a great job on a project or with a client. It could be as simple as a pat on the back, a card, flowers or a bottle of their favourite wine. Just remember the recognition and praise will keep them focused and wanting to achieve more goals.

2. Gift Them With Outside Services

Along the same lines of rewarding employees for a job well done, you should treat all employees at work a few times a year. Who wouldn’t want a massage at work to relieve that extra stress? When times are tense within the workplace, consider bringing in a professional masseuse, life coach, dietician, chiropractor, investment counsellor or even a nutrition expert so that employees can access a service they usually wouldn’t. Be sure to let them know that they are welcome to take time away from work to use the provided services when available.

3. Publicly Recognise Your Hard Working Employees

Honouring your best employees publicly is a great way to firstly thank them for their work, and secondly, to push others in the workplace to strive for the same recognition. That might mean you initiate an employee of the month program with great incentives. This could include a wall of fame. It would exhibit a framed image of the monthly winner to be displayed in the main foyer of the workplace for all customers and team members to see.

4. Give Them The Chance To Be Flexible

Allow your employees to create a flexible work schedule to suit both them and the company. This can vary for where they work, when they work or the hours they work, as everyone has a different approach to being productive. Obviously the schedule must be discussed between all team members to ensure that it is a mutually beneficial decision.

5. Allow Double Time Breaks

Another way to keep your employees happy in the workplace is offering one day a week where they can double their break. For example, someone who gets 30 minutes for lunch can take 1 hour off. This time could be used to run some errands or just relax if it is a stressful week.

6. Offer Family Days Off

Almost all businesses will have sick or vacation leave available to their employees. Mix things up and offer fully paid family days. This will work particularly well if you have a lot of employees with younger children. Make it easy for your team members to request a day or two off work in the case of a sick child, half days of school or the unavailability of the other parent or carer. These family days can be used when necessary rather than taking away from the valuable sick or vacation days.

7. Encourage Personal Sharing

Let your team get to know each other better by allowing everyone to share their interests or hobbies. Have a monthly ‘show and tell’ style meeting where people can express something interesting they may have done or even something they would like to do in the future. This can also assist with workplace relationships as people who have the same interests may decide to participate in hobbies together outside of work.

8. Have An Office Food Party

Throw an occasional impromptu party and bring catered food into the office. After all, everyone loves free food! It could be in celebration for completing a large project or even a team member’s birthday. Throwing a pizza party or ordering Subway meal deals will add that extra bit of happiness and excitement to the employees’ week.

9. Have A Spontaneous Day Off

Another way to reward your employees is by closing down or reducing the work hours on a holiday they normally wouldn’t expect to have off. It could be the first day of Summer, Valentines Day or even St Patricks day – whatever you decide, make it an exciting event as an incentive for their hard and dedicated work.

10. Mix Up The Hierarchy

Organise an event, whether it is a BBQ, a picnic or even a catered lunch in the office of a Friday – and then make your management team serve the employees. This shake up of the hierarchy will show your team that the management cares about equality amongst peers. It also gives the management the chance to chat with and listen to the employee ideas or issues.

11. Ask Them What They Want

Rather than assuming what employee incentives are best, just ask your employees!. See what motivates them to work harder and smarter and look at what you can do in return.

There are so many ways you can reward your employees for their work. To inspire ultimate results, keep employee incentives personal and be sure to accommodate the needs of your team. Incentives are a great way to make work each day seem more bearable and also ensuring the employees have something to look forward to. Get creative!