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If you do feel you should fork out to keep your people happy then there are a few golden rules to follow. The most important point is to ensure that the benefits outweigh the financial outlay
“Don't just look at what your plans cost, but what they will achieve,” argues Nick Meinertzhagen of M2 Motivation. “If you spend £10,000 on a staff retention programme and save £20,000 in recruitment, training time and administration costs, that is money well spent.”
You also need to take care with what you choose to motivate your staff. If you are choosing gifts then do so with care. One in 10 employees have been so insulted by bad corporate gifts, they wanted to quit, according to recent research from Red Letter Days. Chief executive Simon Vincent says picking the right one is vital if you don’t want to undermine the motivational aim of it in the first place. “Bottom of the corporate gift-giving the list is anything bearing the company logo. It could make them feel deeply disappointed at not being valued more highly.”
Another golden rule is to make smaller rewards in vouchers and not in cash which simply disappears into employees' pockets or bank accounts.
Supercheques runs a good scheme offering leisure vouchers to reward staff who have hit targets, generated leads, met performance standards or simply warranted recognition. Vouchers cost from £50 to £300 and can be spent in high street stores, restaurants, hotels, sports clubs, cinemas and travel agents.
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