Recognize Employees and Clients with the Same Reward

While most businesses think of year-end rewards for the efforts and accomplishments of its employees, recognition and rewards programs are strategies that are useful all year long.

Employee rewards can come in a number of shapes and sizes, and for small businesses, they don’t have to put a dent in the bottom line. Along with this, to further embellish and broaden the incentive strategies, offering the clients’ products as rewards creates a win-win situation all around.

Rob Rohena, founder and chief executive of Goshen, Ind.-based interactive marketing agency Digital Integration Resources, is doing just that. “Our clients were giving us business, so I wanted to give business back to them,” he explained to Entrepreneur Magazine. “It’s a win for everybody.”

Rohena took the plan a step further and barters for the employee gifts “by deducting the amount of each certificate from his clients’ bill.” This is a great customer/client incentive as well as a useful ‘all around’ strategy. The customer appreciates the recognition, consideration, and business; the employees appreciates the recognition and the gift; and the employer saves some money. This strategy makes everyone happy.

It’s understandable though, that each small business is different and some may not have clients that can be the source of employee gifts. This isn’t a problem. There are many inexpensive rewards you can choose from.

Employee incentives can be a simple as a $25 gift card to Amazon, or a less expensive box of chocolates. Margie Zable Fisher, writing for the magazine, offers gift suggestions, such as a $25 or under personalized custom Visa gift card, or a $10 and under iTunes Gift Certificate.

The employee rewards are plentiful, and many are very reasonably priced. If your company has clients who can furnish some type of employee reward, it just adds icing on the cake.