How To Effectively Incentivize Your Contractors

Employee reward programs to give you a competitive advantage

While once it was common for employees to retire from the same organization in which their careers started, now it’s more likely that individuals will make several switches between organizations through the course of their careers. Once, people may have only looked for paid time off, retirement packages, and healthcare plans- but recently corporations are finding more creative ways to attract and retain employees. 

While performance-based bonuses are still common practice, some organizations are finding additional ways to encourage employees to optimize their output, increase innovation and overall job satisfaction. Here are some tips on how to create effective rewards programs for your crew members.

1. Consider What Perks Your Employees Find Meaningful

It’s important to make sure the perks you’re offering will seem valuable to your employees. Consider the demographics of your staff and the nature of their work- what may be beneficial to a younger workforce may not be as incentivizing as what is appealing to an older workforce.

If many of your crew members live far from the office or their worksites, consider offering flex hours or reimbursement on gas mileage or other commute related costs. Since most contractors require some form of manual labor to be successful, perhaps offer to cover monthly gym memberships to help your crew stay healthy.

2. Create Rewards Which Contribute to Company Goals

Consider your company’s goals, both financial and the types of behaviors you want to encourage in employees. Use rewards to subtly encourage behavior and workflow changes to help contribute to greater company productivity and achievement. For Example:

• Safety Rewards: Create a program to motivate workers to follow safety and health standards. Avoid injuries by rewarding workers for injury-free months or quarters. Develop programs that help follow OSHA protocols.
• Green Initiatives: Many companies will create programs which encourage recycling, composting, or finding “green” alternatives for common materials.

3. Red Flags to Avoid When Creating Programs

While a little friendly competition can increase excitement and interest in work, it can potentially also create tension and hostility between coworkers and teams. It’s also important to make sure rewards-based programs don’t compromise the integrity or quality of the work being done. 

Avoid “high-cost/low-adoption” programs. If you’ve put together an incentive program that your workers aren’t taking full advantage of, make sure you’re not wasting money or resources. Whether it’s raising awareness that the perk exists or getting to the bottom of why it’s not being utilized, make sure you aren’t wasting your resources.

4. Making the Most of Incentive and Reward Programs

Incentive programs offer companies the ability to increase transparency and communication within their organization. Often, reward-related programs encourage employees to take more visible ownership of their work and contributions, as well as optimize workflows. Managers can use this as an opportunity to increase the regularity of reporting, ask for feedback, and strengthen their team culture.

Interested in putting a rewards program together for your crew? Learn more about our newest offering, PEX Rewards.

PEX Cards offer your organization an innovative and versatile solution for any reward or incentive programs. Whether you are looking to encourage clients to make referrals or express appreciation for your team, our complete incentives platform can help you drive results.