50 fun ways to recognise employees without blowing the budget.
Looking for some cost-effective - or free - ways to recognise and reward your employees? Here are some ideas on how to use perks to show your appreciation.
#1. Morning brew for the crew
For those who can’t function without coffee, reward them with a fresh, delivered coffee of their choice in the morning – for a day or week of their choice. They will get a real caffeine-hit out of it and so will productivity.
#2. Vacay starts today
If you have an employee going on holidays, send them packing early – so they can get packing. A few extra hours out of the office to start their holiday early will mean they come back to work full of motivation and positivity.
#3. Healthy kick-start
If you have employees on a health-kick, reward them by paying their gym fees for a month. It’s well documented that healthy employees take less time off and are more productive, so this one may even pay for itself.
#4. Get the (green) juices flowing
Speaking of health, reward your health-conscious employees with nutrient-packed healthy smoothies for morning tea. Nothing beats a vitamin boost to increase employee brain function and happiness.
#5. Day off for your birthday
Give your employees the present of ‘me time’ for their birthdays with an extra paid day off. You can always save the cake for tomorrow and they will appreciate the gift.
#6. Music to their ears
Recognise the effort your team put in by giving them a gift subscription to Spotify or Apple Music for a month. Keep them upbeat with their choice of beats and you will see loyalty improve.
#7. Beat the Christmas rush
Nothing worse than fighting the crowds in late December, trying to get Christmas shopping done. Give employees an afternoon off to knock-off their present list and they will think all their Christmases’ have come at once.
#8. Holiday dollars
While this one is not free, give your holidaying employees a little extra to buy themselves a cocktail or two while they are on leave. You can even exchange their holiday 'bonus' into local currency to save them the time at the airport.
#9. A night at the flicks
Everyone loves the movies so buy a stack of movie vouchers and give them out as perks to employees. Throw in some candy bar dollars too so your team can really enjoy the night out.
#10. Get happy at happy hour
If you have an employee who likes to celebrate come Friday, pick up their tab for happy hour. Or turn this into recognition for the whole team by buying the team a round of drinks.
#11. Dream house
While you can’t afford to buy your employees their dream house, you can give them time out of the office to find that special place they will call home. A few hours off to be first in line at the open means their offer may just be the one that is accepted.
#12. Stress-relieving massage
Hire a masseuse to come into the office and give your employee a massage. It’s a small way to recognise that an employee has been working hard and they will appreciate the stress-relief.
#13. Job swap
Reward your employees with a job-swap for the day. Not only will they get to experience a potential future career move, they will have greater perspective of how the business works.
#14. Hired help
If you have an employee who is working on a big project and could do with a hand, hire them an executive assistant - even if it is only short-lived. Sidekicker offer a great range of talented side-kicks who can get in and get to work for your employees.
#15. Time off to study
Help your employees ace their next exam with time off to study. Investing in their education will not only see them reach the next level, but reward the company in return.
#16. Choose the tunes
Reward your music loving employees with their choice of office tunes for a day or a week. Let them pick if it is a Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Run DMC kind of day.
#17. Give time to give blood
In recognition of your employee’s hard work, give them time out to do some good and donate blood. While this is not for everyone, some employees get a real kick out of their regular donation.
#18. Exec exposure
Everyone wants face time with the boss, so reward your employees with scheduled time with senior execs. This one gives both ways, with employees valuing time with the business leaders and the company benefitting from greater insight into how the team are tracking.
#19. Time to lay back and relax
Recognise effort with a few hours at a spa for your employees who like pampering. And let’s face it, who doesn’t love a bit of relaxation after all the hard work they have put in.
#20. Choose the company charity
Let your employees choose where company donations go for the month. Reward them by supporting a cause that is close to their heart.
#21. Ideation with the big wigs
Show your employees just how much you value their opinions by setting up a group ideation session to solve one or two of leaderships biggest challenges. Employees will value being listened to by company execs and there may just be some great ideas generated. Make it fun and throw in some M&M’s and donuts to get the creative juices flowing.
#22. Sun's out and so is work
If you have a sun-loving employee, give them the afternoon off to sit in the sun. They will come back refreshed and ready to tackle the to-do list head on.
#23. A few moments for mindfulness
Indulge your employees with 15 mins a day to do some mindfulness activities. Mindfulness had shown to improve thinking and mental health. Headspace have free 10 minute meditations designed to refresh, focus, unwind and restore and Smiling Mind offers mini-mindfulness programs focusing on digital detoxing, mental health improvement and they even offer a workplace program.
#24. Casual day
If you follow a ‘dress code’, relax it in recognition of an employees hard work. Let them come to work in their choice of attire for a day or week.
#25. Get out (of jail?) free
Give your employees the gift of a little extra ‘me time’ – a few hours to catch-up on life admin, meet up with a friend or just enjoy some extra time off.
#26. Knock off the reading list
Give your employees a free month on Audible. They can listen to the latest self-help, business or fiction books on their way to the office, while they chill in the park or at lunch time. You never know, they may just come up with a great new idea for their next work project while they are listening.
#27. Coffee with the CEO
Show your employees how important they are to the business by giving them time to chat over coffee with the CEO.
#28. Clean house
If you have employees who have really been putting in to get the job done, show your appreciation by hiring a cleaner to go in and clean up at home. Nothing beats going home to a clean house and it shows you recognise that they have been going above and beyond.
#29. Wedding bells require lots of planning
If you have an employee getting married, chances are they spend most of their free time working on the wedding to do list. Give them an extra day off to meet with the planner, try on suits, choose rings or go to dance lessons.
#30. Let them choose when to snooze
If you know an employee has a big event coming up, give them the perk of a sleep in. Let them choose when they want to come in late so that they can sleep off the activity from the night before.
#31. Sports at your desk
Order pizza, open a can of soft drink and let your sports-mad employee watch the big game at their desk. You may want to give them headphones and ask them to keep the cheering down, but time out at work to watch their team win will be a win for you too.
#32. Workplace mentoring
If you have an ‘eager-to-improve’ employee who is going places, give them the reward of some one-on-one mentoring sessions with an exec of their choice. Not only will they relish in the opportunity to learn, the company will benefit too.
#33. Time to do good
If you have an employee who is passionate about a cause, give them paid time out of the office to donate their time. Volunteering not only helps the community but gives employees a greater sense of belonging – courtesy of the company.
#34. Work from anywhere day
Most employees can be mobile so give them the choice to work from the couch or the local coffee shop for the day. The change of environment may just inspire them.
#35. Summer afternoon off
Something that is popular in the US is half-day Fridays over summer. Research shows that productivity declines in the warmer months but by making it official, employees often power through the to do list to leave early on Friday with a clear desk.
#36. Personal improvement time
Reward employees with a ticket to a conference or event that will help improve not just their work skills, but their overall life. They will gain new skills and motivation and appreciate the recognition of their personal goals.
#37. Publish an employee’s blog post
If you have a budding blogger in your team, reward them with the opportunity to have their blog published on the company blog. It helps their personal profile and the marketing team will probably appreciate a new perspective from an expert.
#38. Cheer from the sideline
While you can’t turn your employees into cheerleaders, you can give them a few hours out to go and jump up and down at their children’s sports day. They will appreciate the family time and the smiles on the kids faces will be remembered long after the event.
#39. Pass the buck
In recognition of your employee’s hard work, let them pass off something they really don’t want to do to their manager. They will enjoy crossing something off their list and their manager will have a new understanding of what their employees are working on.
#40. Buy the snacks
Reward your snack-loving employees with free snacks of their choice for a week. Instead of them visiting the vending machine twice a day, they can relax at their desk while snacks are delivered to them.
#41. Be there for the break-up
For employees with children, let them leave early to pick the kids up on the last day of school.
#42. Bring your fur-baby to work day
Let your pet-loving employees bring their well-behaved pets to work. You may need to put some restrictions on this one so that Cecil the carpet snake doesn’t end up under the HR Manager’s desk, but clean and well-trained pets in the workplace have shown to have positive benefits on employee mood.
#43. Smash that goal
If you have an employee who is looking to reach a goal – be it quitting a vice or sticking to a workout routine – support them with a reward. Give them a day off to be redeemed if they reach their goal by the target date.
#44. Dream weekend
Give an employee a dream weekend by booking them into their favourite city hotel for a stay-cation or beachside shack for a sea-change. They will enjoy the get-away and be ready to power through Monday like a boss.
#45. Meal delivery
If you have noticed an employee burning the candle at both ends, make home life easier with meals delivered for a week. Nothing like coming home to a fresh-cooked tasty meal.
#46. Walk to work
Take the stress out of the morning commute and encourage your employees to get out and exercise by rewarding them with a walk to work. How does it work? Let them leave home at the time they usually would and arrive whenever they do after walking in. If they live a long way away, they may just want to get off the train a few stops early and enjoy the stroll.
#47. Be at the gate
Reward a hard working employee with time off to pick up a loved one from the airport gate, or the kids from the school gate.
#48. Trip to the barber
Instead of rushing around at lunch-time to join the queue at the barbers, give your employees a few hours in the morning to relax in the chair while they get lathered up for a clean shave.
#49. Passion project
Give a passionate employee time each week for a month or two to develop a work-related project that really gets them excited. Ask them to present their work to a review team at the end of the period to consider how to progress it. They will learn lots about project management, research, team-work and the company and who knows, they may just come up with the next big thing for the brand.
#50. Dinner for two
Reward and employee with dinner for two at their favourite restaurant, on a night of their choosing. You could even throw in a baby-sitter and taxis to make the night memorable.
When giving employee perks, make sure the recognition is social and public. Socialisation of reward and recognition creates transparency about what is on offer, what can be earned, giving all employees something to aim for. It also allows everyone to celebrate the perks of the job, whether they receive them or the perks are awarded to a colleague.
All these ideas should be able to be managed through your recognition software. If your software comes up short and leaves you tracking perks on a spreadsheet, talk to us about how we can help with a company-wide, fully-featured recognition program.