Pay is no longer the be-all and end-all of employee acquisition and retention. That’s not to say remuneration isn’t a reason for professionals to apply for and accept positions; rather, payment now comprises other types of compensation on top of salaries. Modern employees now need compensation in other areas to be satisfied with their job; benefits, job perks, and additional incentivization are crucial to attracting talented workers and keeping them – and ensuring they perform well in their posts.
These factors must be a part of a company’s employee value proposition (EVP). But how exactly can employers incentivize their teams to execute their work to the best of their abilities over the long term, as well as boost morale across the board? Here are a few basic ideas to answer that question – and an explanation of what EVP actually is.
Flexibility
Flexibility is crucial to employee welfare and needs to be part of a workplace’s employee value proposition (EVP). As Simpplr explains, EVP is an employee-oriented approach to workplace planning strategies – within that bracket comes working flexibility for staff. The pandemic saw work-from-home become the norm, leading to greater flexibility worldwide, allowing employees to work from their abodes or via a hybrid working model.
Remote work has boosted employee morale as well as productivity in most cases – but employers now trying to drag their staff back into the office kicking and screaming after almost three years of working from home is a shock to the system (and staff, quite frankly, aren’t having it). Plus, they don’t need to; job vacancies are abundant.
To incentivize workers to apply and stay with a company, it must offer work-from-home opportunities (or hybrid work, at the very least). The option for flexible work boosts morale and productivity and lets employees enjoy greater control of their lives; it also shows them that you, the employer, trust them to do their jobs, no matter where they’re working.
Employee Recognition
Employee-of-the-month programs, in all honesty, can be a little patronizing these days – especially if they’re not undertaken wholeheartedly. Sure, they work, but this kind of recognition needs more juice. According to Havard Business Review, 40% of workers would put more into their jobs if their employers recognized their efforts more.
Thus, it’s evident; employers like recognition, but it’s about doing it right. That doesn’t necessarily mean grand gestures or hanging their picture on the wall with an “employee of the month” label attached. It means simple yet effective recognition methods that acknowledge and show gratitude for workers’ contributions.
The small things truly do speak volumes; hand-written notes from bosses, the occasional gift card, social media shoutouts for outstanding employees, and the odd paid-for special lunch on the company’s dime wouldn’t go amiss.
Profit Shares
Ownership is an excellent incentive, and the allure of a stake in the company and its profits isn’t just attractive for employees on a professional level; it also gives them a sense of personal involvement in the business. If they have a stake in the firm’s profits, they view the business’s (and the entire team’s) successes as personal accomplishments.
It drives them to want to do better, and a positive company culture with a good EVP in which workers have this personal involvement can motivate them to do well, bringing the team together and the whole organization with them to the top as they all strive for betterment and rewards.