When your team members go above and beyond the call of duty, it’s important to recognize them to help keep them motivated and on track. But if your small business is struggling, a cash reward or a raise might not be in the budget. That’s not to say your hands are tied. When your employees go the extra mile, recognize their efforts. Here are six ways to do so without killing your budget.
1. Use a Social Media Shout Out
Your social media accounts are good for a lot more than business marketing. The next time an employee performs well, craft a quick narrative about what he or she did, and how it positively affected business operations, then post it on social media. Give a hearty “Thank you!” at the end. Your other team members and customer base can see what a great job your staff member did.
2. Develop a Local Gift Card Exchange
If you run a restaurant and you've been rewarding your staff with gift cards for free food, you might want to re-think your approach. Your team probably eats food at the restaurant all the time, so free food may not seem that special. Instead, partner up with other local business owners and exchange gift cards, using their cards as your rewards. Your employees will appreciate the free goodies, and you can generate goodwill and more business by deepening local business relationships.
3. Offer a Better Title
Even if you can’t offer an official promotion, there are things you can do to show you respect your employees and the work they put in. For instance, you could make your top salesperson an Executive Sales Rep (with a modest bump in commission), or if you have a staff member who does a great job training other team members, you could promote him or her to Trainer, adding $1 per hour to his or her wage during training(s).
4. Implement Non-Financial Incentives
An extra week of vacation would be cherished by your staff, as would the ability to write their own schedules for a week. You could even set up a contest, so that the winning staff member gets to opt out of his or her least favorite job duties, assigning them to the rest of the team – it can be a great way to motivate other team members to take things to the next level.
5. Allow Telecommuting
How many of your employees are dying to work from home? Of course, not every position or business model lends itself to home-based work, but if your employees do most of their job online, considering offering telecommuting as your next incentive.
6. Arrange a Team Building Event
Rather than organizing and planning your next team building event, give your high-performing team a budget to plan their own event. They can decide where to go, what to do, and how to enjoy celebrating their success.
When it comes to motivating your team, it’s important to get creative. Sticking to the same old incentives gets boring, making it hard to keep spirits high. If you’re struggling to come up with a good idea, ask your staff what they’d appreciate most – you may be surprised by what you learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What are your thoughts?