How to Start an Employee Incentive Program

Companies create employee incentive programs for a variety of purposes, such as increase sales, create a process improvement or improve safety. An incentive program does not need to be elaborate or expensive to be successful. The key to developing an effective employee incentive program is to have clearly defined objectives and offer a reward that matches the company's culture.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Funds
• Promotional materials
• Prizes

1. Define the incentive program's objectives. Decide what you hope to accomplish with the incentive campaign. Include measurable, quantifiable results.

2. Determine a budget. Include promotional materials, prizes and administration costs.

3. Develop the program guidelines. Form a committee and develop the program in house or hire an incentive company. Outline the purpose of the program, participation guidelines, entry process, timeline and rewards.

4. Create promotional materials. Make posters, flyers, email announcements, a brochure and special section on the company's employee website. Ensure that the materials are attractive, interesting and informative. The key is to catch everyone's attention and generate interest in the employee incentive program.

5. Kick off the program. Chose the methods that best fit your company's location and demographics. When all employees work at a local facility, use posters, flyers, emails and decorations. For a company with off-site employees throughout the country or world, use email and the employee website. Make a big deal out of the kick off to generate excitement. Send teaser announcements that lead up to the big launch.

6. Manage the program. Follow the program's timeline to evaluate employee progress and communicate updates. When the program concludes, do a wrap up to communicate the result and thank participants.

Tips & Warnings

• Assign one person to manage the employee incentive program to ensure consistent administration.
• Be flexible. If this is your first time running an employee incentive program you are likely to encounter bumps along the way. Take note of the things that don't work well so you can improve your next incentive program.
• Don't drop the ball when managing your employee incentive program. Failure to communicate the program's status will de-motivate employees and ruin your program.
• Not all employees will want to participate in your employee incentive program. There will even be people who grumble and criticize your efforts. Don't let it get you down. You won't be able to motivate everyone, so focus on the positive outcomes.

Who Can Help:

• eFax is the world’s #1 Internet fax service.  Send and receive faxes by email and kiss your fax machine goodbye. 30-Day Free Trial