Tag Archive for: employee bonuses

5 Effective Ways to Incentivize Contingent Workers

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Keeping your workforce motivated and productive is key to the success of any business. However, when dealing with contingent workers, traditional incentive programs often fall flat. Why? Because their temporary employment status means they view incentives differently than your full-time staff.

Incentivizing your temporary staff is important becuase it shows recognition for their contributions, builds loyalty during their tenure, and creates a sense of belonging. For a hiring manager or HR professional, the goal is to provide rewards that are meaningful, achievable within a limited timeline, and aligned with their professional interests.

Doing so can significantly boost morale, enhance productivity, and create a positive workplace experience during their time with your company.

If you are looking for simple and effective ways to incentivize your contingent workers, here are a few options to get you started:

1. Performance-Based Bonuses

One incentive that speaks to nearly everyone is bonuses. You can tie this incentive to performance, allowing the best and brightest to benefit from their level of contribution, and give everyone a goal to work toward. When designing your bonus program, you need to select timetables that are achievable by short-term employees. Additionally, make sure the targets are appropriate based on the level of the job and clearly define them using metrics to ensure favoritism doesn’t come into play.

2. Offer Paid Time Off

One common challenge for contingent workers is limited access to paid time off (PTO). Now with Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST), wokers can accure earned time off depending on hours worked. This time off can make work-life balance easier to achieve, since your contingent workers don’t have to make a financial sacrifice to handle must-do tasks in their personal lives. Plus, it shows that you appreciate their effort and dedication, even if don’t remain with your company as a permanent employee.

3. Development Opportunities

Many contingent workers accept short-term assignments in hopes of gaining valuable experience that can help them move forward in their career. If you have the opportunity to help them grow their skills, consider offering this as an incentive. Anything from formal courses to conferences to cross-training options can be enticing, particularly if they relate to their preferred field. When you invest in their career growth, contingent workers become more motivated to deliver high-quality work during their time with your company.

4. Small, Thoughtful Gifts

Sometimes, the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact. Small gifts tied to project milestones or achievements can be a fun and effective way to show appreciation. Gift cards can be a great option, particularly to commonly used stores like gas and grocery or restaurants. Alternatively, consider providing a catered lunch to your employees as a form of celebration. Most people appreciate free food, so it can be an easy incentive to offer. Just make sure you provide a range of options, ensuring anyone with dietary restrictions can take part in the festivities. These simple acts of appreciation can create a sense of recognition and camaraderie, encouraging contingent workers to stay engaged and motivated.

5. Highlight Teamwork and Recognition

Everyone appreciates being acknowledged for their work, and contingent employees are no exception. While they may be with your company for a limited time, it’s still important to ensure they feel like a valued part of the team. Publicly recognizing contingent workers during team meetings or through internal communication channels is a great way to show appreciation for their efforts. Another thoughtful gesture is providing certificates of achievement or personalized notes to acknowledge their contributions, leaving a lasting positive impression. Additionally, offering glowing referral letters can serve as both an incentive and a valuable boost to their career growth. Overall, recognition programs cost little to implement but can go a long way in boosting motivation, morale, and trust.

Final Thoughts: Create a Culture of Appreciation

Motivating your contingent workers doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Incentives such as bonuses, PTO, development opportunities, and recognition programs can make a world of difference. By offering tailored incentives that meet the unique needs of contingent workers, you’re not only encouraging great performance but also fostering a culture of respect and appreciation within your organization.

Need support finding skilled contingent workers who will make an impact? Our recruitment experts are here to connect you with top-tier talent, so you can build a team that drives your business forward. View our services to get started.

How To Increase Employee Engagement

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In any place of employment, keeping employees motivated and engaged must be a priority, because it’s what will lead to employee commitment and longevity. Studies have consistently shown that only about 15% of the workforce is entirely engaged in their position and company. When employees are engaged, they will put their best effort into doing anything they can to help the business thrive. It can mean the difference between someone who does just enough to get by and the person who goes the extra mile when they see the opportunity.

1. Give Recognition, Incentives and Rewards

Every employee will be more inclined to go above and beyond and more likely to remain with a company if they know that their efforts are appreciated by others. It can be as simple as a “thank you” or “nice work”, email. That being said, words can only go so far for so long. If you truly want your employees to show up their best every day, it is important that they get something in return other than a paycheck. If incentives and rewards become a known part of your business model, you as a company will also get the reputation of a good place to work. It can also add a little friendly competition into the mix. Some good incentives are: gift cards, cash, PTO, bonuses, etc. Also items like flowers and baked goods on birthdays can go a long way.

2. Offer Feedback in Real Time

Especially when an employee does something commendable, nothing feels more gratifying than getting recognized on the spot. Additionally, if an employee is doing something that could use a little tweaking or improvement; sharing how they can change it in real time is what will have the most impact. In both cases, they will know exactly what scenario you are referring to versus having to remember is because it was something that happened weeks ago.

3. Provide Mentoring

Every employee wants to feel like they have a personal relationship with their colleagues and management. There will also be times when employees have questions or concerns but are reluctant to bring them to your attention. Having scheduled meetings/mentoring sessions with your employees both formal and informal will give employees the opportunity to voice their concerns and share ideas. Ideally, it should be in both a group setting and a 1:1 setting for all employees and it can be both while working and a designated time set aside to offer feedback and listen to concerns. 

4. Give Individual Attention

Believe it or not, part of being an inclusive company is giving employees individualized attention. No one wants to be seen as just a number or a cog in the machine. Every employee is important to the business in some capacity, therefore must be treated as such. Employees will perform their best when they are able to bring a part of who they are into the organization. It is part of your job as an employer to make them feel welcome and comfortable enough to do so. Some ways you can do this are: schedule 1:1 meetings with each employee (even if they’re short), make sure every employee knows they are welcome to offer feedback and/or ask questions, check in with every employee to make sure they are updated on the latest company news, and acknowledge every employee when they come in and leave for the day.

5. Invest in Employee Development

There is nothing that can dull a job quicker than an employee doing the same remedial tasks every day.  Eventually they’ll start to feel like their job is insignificant and they are not a big enough contribution to the common goal. Feeling like they are growing and expanding on both a personal and professional level will keep them feeling emotionally connected. This can look like cross-department collaboration, paying for continuing education or courses employees are interested in, offering to increase their responsibilities and job description, and keeping them updated on advancement opportunities.

If your company is looking to bring on more employees, we at Award are here to help you. Contact us here with your staffing needs and questions.

7 Things Companies Can Do For Employee Wellbeing

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One of the most important things a company can do in today’s times is to make employee wellbeing a priority. With the modern world being so busy, burn out can happen quickly if a person’s work-life balance is off.  While it’s the employee’s responsibility to take care of him or herself, knowing that their employer is looking out for them will boost employee morale and incentivize employees to want to do better. Employee wellbeing is how a job’s stress levels, environment, and expectations affect overall health and mental wellness. Here are 7 ways you can implement employee wellbeing into your business strategy.

1. Give Them the Ability to Disengage

One of the biggest causes of work-related stress for people is not having the chance to disengage when they are off the clock. When employees are expected to respond to respond to emails, take phone calls, and/or work on projects when they are supposed to be out of the office, (whether it’s for the evening or weekend) they don’t get the opportunity to rest and recharge. In order to regularly show up and do their best work, employees need time to stop thinking about their jobs and attend to their personal lives. Some of them will feel obligated to work off the clock even when they are not asked to, therefore it’s important to make it clear that they are not obligated to be working on their personal time.

2. Offer Employee Appreciation Incentives

An employee who feels appreciated will always do more than what’s asked of him or her. That is why it’s essential to show them tokens of your appreciation. Every month or so, provide refreshments that employees can enjoy on their breaks. If an employee is going through a difficult time, send him or her flowers or a card signed by the whole team. Honor accomplishments by custom ordering a plaque or framed certificate. If an employee is doing well with sales or recruiting, offer them the incentive of an extra vacation day or purchase them a gift card. Just be sure incentives are offered to all employees, not just those who can deliver tangible results. Offerings like this will make them much more excited about coming to work every day.

3. Provide Health Related Discounts/Opportunities

Getting active will benefit employees in both their personal and professional lives. It is an overall mental health booster and will give them more energy to help them through their days. Offer to pay for part of a membership to a local gym. Offer a reimbursement plan for active wear. If you have the funds and space, create a workout room for employees to use during their breaks or after work. You could even hire a virtual trainer once a week for the entire office to participate in a movement session. Some companies even organize friendly weight-loss or get healthy competitions. This can also contribute to employee camaraderie which leads to a positive company culture.

4. Be Sure Employees Take Vacation

Did you know that more than half of Americans don’t use all of their vacation days in a year? While some companies offer payout for employees that don’t use them by a certain date, taking time away from the office is actually very important. Employees who never get away are more prone to sleep deprivation, illness, and burnout; which in turn leads to call outs and lower job performance. There are a number of reasons employees forfeit their vacation days, one of the biggest ones being that company culture discourages it whether directly or indirectly. This can look like high-level executives never taking time off, strict vacation policies, lack of communication around vacation policies, and/or negative talk about time off. As an employer, it is your responsibility that your employees know that they are entitled to take their vacations. Also be sure that someone takes at least a portion of their responsibilities while they’re away. This way they aren’t returning to a mountain of work when they get back.

5. Be Conscious of Scheduling and Turnaround Time

Have you ever heard of the term “clopening”? This is a term mostly applicable in service positions such as restaurants or retail where business hours are nearly all day. From an employee perspective, it is incredibly exhausting when you work the closing shift, just to return a few hours later to open. Some companies are notorious for giving employees fewer than 8 hours in between shifts which doesn’t take into account their commute home and back nor their need to eat and freshen up. People get jobs to live, they do not live to work, so be sure that you are treating them like humans and not like machines.

6. Organize Company Outings

One thing that motivates employees to put their best foot forward is having events to look forward to. Doing things together as a company will ensure that employees disengage and enjoy themselves, at least for one day/night. If you have a team of mostly females, a spa day is always a popular idea. If you have a team of mostly males, a sporting event in the middle of the day or after work can be exciting. Just make sure that it’s an event that will truly be enjoyable for your employees- you can even ask for suggestions or vote on a few different options.

7.Allow Casual Dress Days

While this may not work in every industry, it can definitely work in most offices. The more formal the dress code is, the less comfortable the clothing tends to be. A shift in what employees are wearing can really change the vibe of the office for the day as people tend to\be less uptight the more casual their clothing is. Many offices have integrated casual Fridays into their business models and themed dress up days throughout the year. Even something small like this can have a massive impact on your employees’ mental health.

 

If your company is currently in need of employees, we at Award Staffing are here to help. Contact us here with any questions or inquiries.

4 Reasons Why Minnesota Businesses Give Bonuses

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Some employers give their employees bonuses for special occasions such as completing a project, making a sale, or celebrating the holidays. Bonuses are often given in the form of payment, but can also be given in other forms such as extra time off or increased responsibility. Recognizing the accomplishments of your employees with a bonus not only rewards them but also benefits the company.

Motivate Hard Work

When your employees receive bonuses after a certain project is completed or a deadline is met, you are motivating them to work harder in the future. Your employees will start taking that extra step and assigning more responsibility to themselves in hopes that you will reward their behavior. You don’t have to give out bonuses every time your employees do something great, but you are letting them know that you are observing and appreciate their hard work. This will lead to more quality work on a more consistent basis.

Promote Certain Tasks

If you have a high priority or time-sensitive task, a great way to do that is to offer your employees a bonus. This will let the employees know that this task or project is extremely important to you, and it will stand out from the other projects or tasks you assign. Your employees will work harder on that specific task because of the stakes that are involved and the importance of the project.

Boost Employee Morale

If your employees know there is even a slight chance you will give out bonuses, you will create an environment of positivity and happiness in your workplace. This will boost your employee morale, as employees will feel like their work is being seen and rewarded. Your employees will also be more willing to put more time and effort into projects, which will lead to a greater sense of self-pride and accomplishment.

Increase Employee Retention

Acknowledging your employee’s accomplishments and skill sets through bonuses creates satisfied employees, ultimately increasing retention. Increased retention builds stronger work relationships and reduces cost per hire.

Contact Award Staffing. We will perform an extensive search for high-quality employees who match your company’s needs and stay, earning bonuses through their motivation, commitment to the task, and personal morale.

 

FINDING YOUR TALENT

Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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