I gave her a bonus. An employee does a top-notch job with a tricky project and you want to acknowledge her hard work.
Many people do.
After a recent presentation, I received some interesting feedback. I was discussing what motivates employees today with a management group from a Vancouver manufacturing company. After the session, the person who had invited me to speak pulled me aside. A sense of frustration overcame me. My experience has shown that money isn't the main reason people work.