These days, job seekers do more research than ever on prospective companies/jobs. Job seekers expect to easily find and have access to more information about a potential employer, including reviews by other employees, past and present. To attract the best talent, organizations need to know what rewards employees really want. According to research by Forbes, these are the rewards employees reacted the most positively to:
- Cash
- Nearly seven in ten (68%) people say that salary and compensation are among their top considerations before accepting a job
- Employees may think that cash is a great incentive, but in reality, a cash reward is not going to motivate your employee
- Health Insurance
- Or other paid benefits such as dental, or vision care
- Work/Life Balance
- Employees will perform at their best when they are not overworked
- Travel
- Or other experiences such as cooking classes or art classes
- Opportunities for advancement and professional development
- If your employee knows they can grow at work, they will be more motivated to work hard
- Sense of purpose
- Give your employees a reason to feel great about coming to work each day
Want additional ideas on how to reward your employees?
- Sporting event tickets
- Allowing employees to bring their pets into the office, for the day or as a more permanent office-wide reward
- Standing desk, or new desk chair
- Membership service (blue apron, wine subscription)
- Have a car wash service come to the office
- Smaller, fun gifts such as a snack, scratch-off lottery ticket, or a new coffee mug
- Health club or gym membership
- Hold a viewing party for the game or popular show everyone enjoys
- Movie tickets
- Edible Arrangements delivery, fresh cookie delivery, or flower delivery
- Add them to a wall of fame
- Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon subscription
Some more unique rewards may be a better fit for your company, such as haircuts for employees or improv classes, depending on their likes or dislikes.