r income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect o

When designed and implemented effectively, employee incentive programs can be an excellent strategic human resources tool to promote employee confidence and boost measurable performance. In fact, employee incentive programs have become an integral part of any company's competitiveness and desirability.

But with its emphasis on reward for specific performance, there have been some confusion as to how these programs can be designed to be truly commensurate with employee productivity. Here's how you can design your company's employee incentive programs effectively on the get go:

Determine the objective of the employee incentive program.

Employee incentive programs are meant to motivate employees to work harder and become more productive. They are also an effective way of allowing employees to take greater responsibility for their jobs and a good method of measuring their performance. These programs are also opportunities for employees to supplement their income.

Design a home-grown incentive program that's unique to your organization.

During your research, it's perfectly okay to look at other companies' incentive programs to see what works for them, but make sure to consider how your company's style and finances will fare. Travel incentives, for example, are excellent rewards for significant performance, but if your company cannot sustain it, it will fall flat later on.

Design an employee incentive program that offers realistic pay in exchange for realistic performance, the kind that will reward employees for extraordinary efforts, not just for doing their jobs. Make sure the program is sustainable and able to offer rewards for performances in different stages, whether employees are still starting out or are already half-way through. An employee incentive program should remain interesting and relevant for the long haul.

Incentive programs must be separated from the employee's regular pay.

Employees must feel that they are receiving the reward separate from their income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect on

an design your company's employee incentive programs effectively on the get go:

Determine the objective of the employee incentive program.

Employee incentive programs are meant to motivate employees to work harder and become more productive. They are also an effective way of allowing employees to take greater responsibility for their jobs and a good method of measuring their performance. These programs are also opportunities for employees to supplement their income.

Design a home-grown incentive program that's unique to your organization.

During your research, it's perfectly okay to look at other companies' incentive programs to see what works for them, but make sure to consider how your company's style and finances will fare. Travel incentives, for example, are excellent rewards for significant performance, but if your company cannot sustain it, it will fall flat later on.

Design an employee incentive program that offers realistic pay in exchange for realistic performance, the kind that will reward employees for extraordinary efforts, not just for doing their jobs. Make sure the program is sustainable and able to offer rewards for performances in different stages, whether employees are still starting out or are already half-way through. An employee incentive program should remain interesting and relevant for the long haul.

Incentive programs must be separated from the employee's regular pay.

Employees must feel that they are receiving the reward separate from their income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect o

ncentive program that's unique to your organization.

During your research, it's perfectly okay to look at other companies' incentive programs to see what works for them, but make sure to consider how your company's style and finances will fare. Travel incentives, for example, are excellent rewards for significant performance, but if your company cannot sustain it, it will fall flat later on.

Design an employee incentive program that offers realistic pay in exchange for realistic performance, the kind that will reward employees for extraordinary efforts, not just for doing their jobs. Make sure the program is sustainable and able to offer rewards for performances in different stages, whether employees are still starting out or are already half-way through. An employee incentive program should remain interesting and relevant for the long haul.

Incentive programs must be separated from the employee's regular pay.

Employees must feel that they are receiving the reward separate from their income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect o

e kind that will reward employees for extraordinary efforts, not just for doing their jobs. Make sure the program is sustainable and able to offer rewards for performances in different stages, whether employees are still starting out or are already half-way through. An employee incentive program should remain interesting and relevant for the long haul.

Incentive programs must be separated from the employee's regular pay.

Employees must feel that they are receiving the reward separate from their income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect o

r income. Issue a separate check and include documentations such as memos or citations. Announce the reward during company meetings or post it on the bulletin board or the company newsletter to make the employees feel special and appreciated. Make sure other employees get the message – perform well and you'll be rewarded.

Periodically evaluate employee incentive programs.

It's important that you systematically assess how effective your employee incentive programs are in terms of its effect on employee performance, job satisfaction and company cost. Be consistent with your program but keep it simple so that when you have to review it later, it's easy to find what its strengths and weaknesses are.

Ensure mutual understanding with the employee.

The key to ensuring that your employee incentive programs are appreciated by the employees is to ensure that they understand what activities are involved and how their performances will be measured. Make sure that these units of measurement are readily produced and verified and cannot be influenced or manipulated by anyone, including you.

Just a reminder…

Money is good but it's an ineffective motivator. Money is something that can immediately motivate an employee although its marginal value diminishes over time. In the long run, money is just not enough to affect an employee's earnings potential significantly just by some changes in behavior.

There is also the challenge of working with the restrictions imposed by job descriptions, which prevent employees from using independent thoughts and initiative to act on their ideas. Other than that, there are also the usual command responsibilities and control levels that an employee must respect, which may also hinder optimum performance.