Creating pride and loyalty in the organization is a key component in generating revenue-increasing performance in a company. In order to cultivate this requisite pride and loyalty in their employees, many businesses turn to incentive programs to recognize strong performance.

5 Ways To Incentivize Your Workforce to Increase Company Revenue

However, not all incentive programs are created equal, with many outdated employee-of-the-month efforts doing more harm than good for company morale. Therefore, in order to effectively incentivize a modern workforce, give strong consideration to the following five points to help grow company revenue.

Provide Plans for Reaching Goals

More sales equal more revenue. It’s simple math. However, employees, even in the most altruistic companies, are not as likely to get a warm, fuzzy feeling at an increasing company worth as they are at a quarterly bonus check or upgraded lease on their company car.

The problem in most companies is not the incentives themselves–it is the communication as to how employees can go about attaining these incentives. Too many companies simply take a sell more, get this approach. That is like a coach telling his or her athlete: “If you want to win the race, run faster.”

Employees, like athletes, respond well to coaching. Everyone wants to get the prize, but it is the journey in pursuit of the prize that carries the most significant impact. As a result, companies that update their incentive programs to include detailed road maps for how employees can reach specific incentives are shown to be the most effective, with McKinsey & Company relaying that revised incentive programs can have a 50% higher impact on sales than increased investment in advertising.

Some ways that company leadership can modernize ineffective incentive programs and help employees earn rewards is by clearly communicating which products to focus on, providing incremental sales goals (as opposed to one big, pie-in-the-sky incentive), and giving regular shoutouts to employees for even the smallest milestones, such as completing their first sale or selling to a new client.

Flexible Work Schedules

While all of the classic performance perks–cash bonuses, company vehicles, more paid time off–still carry plenty of clouts, businesses need to get a little more creative to keep their employees motivated in the remote work era. When employees see other professionals doing similar jobs from home, getting an extra 30 minutes of sleep by skipping the morning commute in the process, they can quickly sour on an environment in which they feel imprisoned by the 9-to-5 timeclock. In fact, a PR Newswire study found that 80% of contemporary workers would turn down a job that did not offer flexible work hours.

Therefore, if your company is equipped with an infrastructure that allows flexible schedules for employees, make it a part of an incentive package. Give employees who reach certain milestones one flex day a week, or reward continued performance excellence with diminishing core hours in the office with the freedom to log the remaining hours elsewhere.

In addition to increased employee motivation, greater leniency with remote work can actually reduce the cost of employee benefits, further impacting company revenue through lower consumption of utilities and reducing the need for office space.

Offer Subscriptions

We are living in the midst of what many call the subscription economy. In fact, West Monroe reports that the average American spends roughly $238 dollars each month on subscriptions–higher than many people’s utility bills.

Simply put, subscriptions to digital services have become a way of life in 2021. At a relatively small cost to the company, a Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Peloton subscription could go a long way toward providing the type of lifestyle benefits that would resonate with a contemporary workforce and fuel strong performance.

Tuition and Training Reimbursements

In an economy rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Washington Post calculates that some 52% of those who lost their jobs over the past year are actively looking for ways to train themselves to enter new career fields.

“Whether or not your company was forced to make any staffing changes as a result of the pandemic, this figure illustrates the workforce’s desire to learn new skills in an era when automation is an ever-present threat to usurp jobs. Furthermore, by making tuition and training reimbursements a fundamental component of the company’s incentive program, it makes it more likely that you will be able to fill your company’s next senior-level opening from within, reducing the cost of recruiting and onboarding efforts.” – Maria DiCarlo, CEO of Raincatcher.

Elite Employee Benefits

Despite the emergence of other enticing incentives, the staple fringe benefits–health, dental, vision, retirement–still resonate quite loudly with employees. According to a Fractl survey, 88% of respondents would give heavy consideration to a job with outstanding fringe benefits over a more lucrative position that lacked in this realm.

As a result, employees may be more motivated by an increase in employer-covered insurance and retirement contributions as opposed to a one-time cash bonus for strong performance. With the general rule being that 1.25X an employee’s base salary will be his or her total cost after benefits are included, look into ways that funds appropriated for performance bonuses can be spread out to offer a more appealing benefits package.

Conclusion

Incentivizing your workforce is a great way to drive employee performance that will have a positive effect on company revenue. However, not all incentives have the intended effect. By considering the five ideas listed above, your company can encourage a more productive workforce, in turn leading to higher revenues.