6 Ways to Incentivize Your Employees to Grow Revenues and Profits

We can’t all be Google with a cafeteria or a nap room. We can’t all be a tech startup with employees riding Segways down the hallways. But there are easy and affordable ways to improve the morale of your employees, and as a result, incentivize your employees to grow revenues and profits. And if you are considering selling your business, you’ll want to maximize revenues and profits to get the best value.

Read on to learn more about six ways to incentivize employees:

1. Recognition

Powerful employee recognition that boosts morale means more than saying, “Good job.” Be specific about what employees did, what skills they used, and how they made a project come to fruition. This type of personalized feedback makes employees feel valued and respected. Your employees will know how they are succeeding and where. Not only will morale and confidence increase for your team, but you will see increased productivity and a reduction in turnover.

Both one-on-one recognition and acknowledging employees at group meetings will have positive effects. Consider taking individuals out to lunch or coffee to get to know them and provide positive feedback. Other ways to show recognition include posting thank you’s to employees on social media and/or featuring their work on the company website. Whatever you do, be sure to provide immediate praise, and you will see more positive behavior and good work.

2. Team Building Experiences

As cheesy as it sounds, team building experiences and company get-togethers go a long way towards boosting morale and increasing employee engagement. Company events give teams the chance to get to know one another and feel more comfortable with each other. Team bonding will cross over into team work on company objectives and projects and result in better outcomes. As employees make connections with one another, they will feel more connected to the company and feel a part of the bigger picture.

For team building experiences, get away from isolating cubicles and away from computer screens. Organize a monthly luncheon, picnics, or baseball games. Have fun together with icebreakers, trivia, or a board game event. One way to promote morale and team bonding is to allow company time to volunteer for nonprofits.

3. Clearly Communicate Goals

Clear communication of goals between employees and leadership can reduce stress, promote a positive atmosphere, and help teams meet deadlines. Keep your team focused by building trust and confidence through open communication and clear expectations.

Goals need to be realistic and incremental. For example, describe to team members how you expect them to improve from the last year. Outline who is taking on which tasks and responsibilities for a project; ask employees which areas they would like to work on. Goals should be attainable yet challenging to keep people engaged.

In an environment of open communication between employees and leadership, employees feel safe to be honest and express feedback on leadership style and effectiveness. At the same time, letting employees know how they are doing well and where they can improve will help build confidence.

Consistent and frequent communication is necessary to check for understanding. Repeat goals often to your team, and hold weekly or monthly meetings to discuss progress.

4. Stake in the Company or Rewarding Employees for Reaching Goals

Having a stake in the company inspires employees to dedicate themselves to producing quality work for the health of the company. Another option is to offer commissions or bonuses for reaching specific benchmarks or objectives like converting leads to sales. Goals can be individualized to fit each person’s job description.

Commission or bonuses in the form of a flat-rate or a percentage can both be effective. For example, incentivize employees by offering a percentage for reaching specific targets. Rewards like these can also motivate a salesforce and encourage healthy competition. Your investment will come back to you as your team feels valued and works hard to achieve their goals and earn their bonuses.

5. Work-Life Balance

While it may seem counterproductive to be flexible when it comes to taking time off of work or allowing people to work remotely, it actually improves team spirit to allow for work-life balance in the office. We’ve all been there when we have to be at home for one reason or another. Parents sometimes have to stay home to care for sick children or people need to stay home to meet with a plumber or electrician once in a while.

Be flexible with employees by allowing them to work from home when they can’t come into the office. Accommodate and allow flex time for medical appointments and family needs. Provide ample sick and vacation time to prevent employees from overworking themselves. Working too hard can result in reduced productivity and morale.

Some companies choose to:

• Restrict working hours to prevent employees from overworking themselves
• Install a gym at the office or provide employees with a gym membership
• Provide childcare services to working parents
• Implement a flexible work hours program in which employees spend half the day working in the office and the other half working remotely from a location of their choosing. (Employees feel more in control and get a break from the tedium of the office while still being held responsible for completing their tasks on time.)

Allowing for work-life balance at your company reduces tension and stress while increasing loyalty, motivation, and empowerment. It also means increased rates in employee retention, and it makes the company more attractive to prospective employees

6. Elicit Feedback

Don’t underestimate the potential to workshop issues with your employees. Encourage employees to provide feedback. Feedback can be one-on-one, communicated at team meetings, or submitted anonymously. Ask employees what they would like to see happen in the workplace. Some of the best ideas for incentivizing people at work may come from within your team.

It doesn’t take a big budget to implement these strategies for incentivizing your employees to grow revenues and profits. Many of these are simple opportunities to increase ROI. For more ways to maximize your revenues and profits, contact Raincatcher. They can help with the sale of your business when you’re ready.