Therefore, the next challenge is to keep your employees happy. Most marketers are familiar with the cost to attract a new customer versus the cost to retain an existing one. The same principle applies to employees too. Savvy businesses are recognizing the need to incorporate an employee loyalty program into their business plan, in the same manner that a marketing plan would include a customer loyalty program. However, balancing the overall corporate vision with the needs of various departments and employee desires can present a challenge.
Many businesses have budgets for employee recognition and incentives.
Quite often though, individual department or section managers decide how to allocate these funds. While it is smart to offer incentives and rewards, an ad hoc procedure for these programs is not necessarily beneficial for the business or the employees. For example, one employee could be the target of many programs. He could be challenged to improve his response time, lower his sick days used, attend training, participate in lifestyle or fitness improvement programs, car pool, suggest cost-saving techniques, improve safety practices and so on. Some of these goals could include an incentive, whereas others may not.