Rewarding employees

Incentives to boost performance can range from pay increases to words of praise

Sarah Vanlerberg and Peter John work in a team environment at Falkins Insurance. — Trevor Crawley

One way to boost business growth is to create a productive employee workforce that is motivated to succeed—and that means incentives.

Such incentives for employees usually come in the form of material gifts, pay raises or training at company retreats.

Falkins Insurance Group is one company that sets up a retreat every 18 months as a way to thank employees and provide additional training through speakers and presentations.

Peter John, vice-president of finance and information technology, said the retreats are a good way for the different branches across the region to put faces to names, relax and learn in a team atmosphere.

“I think they appreciate it; most of them like the seminars and it’s usually a pretty positive experience,” John said.

The last retreat the company took was in mid-September in Nelson, where roughly 100 employees from 11 different offices descended on the Hume Hotel for the weekend.

Sarah Vanlerberg, a team leader at the Baker Street office in Cranbrook, has been with Falkins Insurance for five years and said the retreats are a way to be recognized for hard work and to learn from each other.

The seminars are intended to provide training that can be used outside of the workplace. Learning how to grow as a team and discovering diplomatic ways of saying no to a project constitutes useful information that can transfer into personal lives, Vanlerberg said.

Hard incentives such as pay increases depend on company performance; if profits are up from the same time a year prior, then everyone benefits.

“To hear ‘you’re doing a good job’ is reward enough but to have the extra behind it (a cash bonus) is nice too,” said Vanlerberg.

Sales commissions are incentive enough to work hard at some companies. But there are a few little things that Brian Bebelman, a sales representative at Glacier Honda in Castlegar, has noticed that help push and motivate the team.

Managers set sales targets and designate certain cars on the lot that need to be sold, said Bebelman. Reaching those targets and moving product results in perks such as free staff lunches and movement into a higher pay bracket. 

“You’re always looking for a pat on the back one way or another, either through cash incentives or simply ‘you did a good job,’ ” Bebelman said.

Money seems to be the universal incentive for people to succeed and grow business. However, flexible employers and a good working atmosphere both go a long way to making employees feel valued, said Marla Dreher, a staff accountant at Carmichael, Toews, Irving Inc. in Nelson.

“It also helps to figure out what employee triggers are—how they learn and what motivates them—because not one strategy works for every employee,” Dreher said.