The best low-cost rewards to motivate your employees

All organizations do not have a fat budget to set up a world-class reward program.

When it comes to rewarding, some companies go beyond imaginations. Throughout 2022, we saw such examples. A Chennai based IT firm, Ideas2 IT, gifted 100 cars to all their top performers which were worth ₹100 Crore. Moreover, another IT firm called Mookambika Infosolutions gave a salary raise to employees who got married using the matrimony service which the company provided. Another example is of Yolk Recruitment, a UK based recruitment firm, organised a four-day holiday for its 55 member staff after a long pandemic lockdown. As a result of this entire trip, the company spent almost one crore.

The above-mentioned companies fairly made profits and wanted to share the same with their employees. But what about others? In fact, some companies do not even have such a big budget to provide such expensive perks.

Below are some things which smaller firms can do to keep their employees motivated in a budget friendly way.

No Agenda Meetings

Teams can organise no agenda meetings once a week. Friday might be a good day since the workload is much lighter. Teams can meet at one place, and pay for their own meals. As the evening moves on, work related conversations start to kick in. This way, teams are able to build bonds and cultivate a sense of belongingness.

Gamifying tasks

Team leaders and managers can look at gamifying tasks at the workplace. Gamification is simple. Just integrate a leaderboard chart and reward the best performers. The sales team have been doing this since ages, but other roles can also evaluate the same. For instance, in a team of coders, the one who writes codes with best results in quality test, can be rewarded with a small token of appreciation. The best way to do this is promoting competitiveness in groups rather than individuals which can lead to credit stealing.

Promoting peer-to-peer recognition

For instance, a sales professional has exceeded his targets which has resulted in exceptional revenue for the company. Now a behaviour where the sales professional has the freedom of recognising the efforts of sales support should be promoted. The prize for reward should not be very expensive, but something which can bring a sense of appreciation for both the professionals.

Organising lunch parties

Managers can organise lunch parties twice or thrice a month. Besides getting to have lunch together and building bonds, the whole team can enjoy the time together as well. In fact, rather than ordering food from outside, people can also organise pod lunches where people can cook and bring food in a group.

Appreciating employees with ‘Great Job’ cards

Rather than money, a simple appreciation card for a well done job goes a long way. Managers can send a small appreciation card to the employee for a task which is well executed. The employee feels valued and encouraged at the same time. All this can be achieved without spending much money.

Work-Life Balance

Having flexible policies which ensures that employees also have a life outside work, can be the biggest perk for any employee. These days, employees want to spend time on what they have a passion for, or something that they want to learn outside work or simply spend time with their family. Employees are more likely to achieve their goals if the firm respects and values their time.

Taking inspiration from large organisations in rewarding people and implementing the same in your own company is fine. But some low-cost rewards and perks are evergreen and actually work the best.