Tailor Work Incentives for Employees to Retail & Hospitality

After two years blighted by COVID-19 and its associated lockdowns, retail and hospitality are finally open for business again. However, as companies open their doors to customers they’re facing another challenge in the form of an unprecedented talent shortage. For customer-facing sectors like retail and hospitality finding the right people is vitally important. But keeping hold of them is just as crucial, especially if your business has to consider more complex issues such as food safety compliance and shift coverage. This is where the right work incentives for employees can come into play.

So what can companies do to attract and retain the very best talent in such a competitive job market? The answer lies in using employee reward and recognition software to create a program that makes your company stand out from the crowd. 

Employee rewards and recognition is key to attracting and retaining the top talent 

If your retail and hospitality company is currently experiencing staffing shortages, then now is the time to act. Many of today’s top talents - especially younger workers who gravitate towards the retail and hospitality industries - are looking for companies that offer employee rewards and recognition programs. 

Why? Well, it all comes down to purpose. People aren't just after bigger pay packets, they’re looking to feel valued, to feel like the work they are doing has a tangible impact. And this is where employee rewards and recognition can help. Done right, an effective program won’t just improve your employees’ experience and boost morale, it can also encourage high performance, reduce turnover and ultimately build the kind of culture that modern candidates are looking for. 

Click here to see how we helped to revamp employee rewards at hospitality giant Peter Piper Pizza. 

Work incentives for employees that make a difference

These days there’s a whole lot more to rewards and recognition than employee of the month awards. That’s because modern employee rewards and recognition software enables organizations to tailor their programs to their specific needs. 

The key is customization. If you’re looking for some inspiration, here are a couple of suggestions to help you customize your own employee rewards for the retail and hospitality industry.

Shift hero award

In an industry where shiftwork is the norm, ensuring that you have enough staff at any one time is a constant balancing act for retail and hospitality companies. Whether people ring in sick or you have to cover vacation, sometimes you need your team members to step up to help fill the void. So why not create a culture where this kind of behavior is rewarded? 

A shift hero award is a great way of recognizing team members who step in to pick up the slack. It also creates a sense of positive reinforcement, a virtuous cycle where the more people do something the more they are rewarded. 

Customer service award

Ensuring all of your team members deliver an exceptional experience can be vital to your success. The good news is that rewards and recognition can take your customer service to the next level. 

By recognizing staff who provide a great customer experience you don’t just reward them for their actions, you help to incentivize this kind of behaviour. Do it publicly, as part of regular company meetings and communications, and you embed this across your entire organization. 

This puts customer service at the core of your business, helping your people to connect the dots between their own efforts and the company’s success. Not only does this help to incentivize better service, but it will also make your people feel needed, which will in turn have a positive impact on your retention rates. 

Food safety award

When it comes to hospitality, health and hygiene have to be front of mind. Companies invest a significant amount of time and money in educating and training their employees to the highest possible standards. But how can you ensure that those standards don’t slip over time? 

The key is to make food safety something to aspire to, something that is at the forefront of every decision made by every employee. This is where employee rewards and recognition can help. By creating custom awards that recognize health and hygiene, you can turn food safety from a chore into something to be celebrated and help employees to understand why it is so important to the business as a whole.

Sales incentives

Want to boost your bottom line? Upselling can have a huge impact on your retail or hospitality business. But how do you encourage staff to go that extra mile? Contests are a great way to focus your team’s effort. People love games and implemented right they can add some competition and flair into the workplace. 

There are countless options to keep your employees focused on upselling and they don't have to cost the earth to implement. Whether it’s something as simple as a daily prize where the best upseller is rewarded with a small gift, or something more complex like an annual contest that rewards top performers with extra paid time off - the only thing holding you back from creating a custom reward is your imagination. 

Employee rewards software that’s here to help 

Creating custom awards can be key to boosting employee engagement, improving your customer service and building a culture where your people strive for success. And the best thing about them is they are easy to set up, especially if you adopt employee reward and recognition software like BucketList. 

To find out more visit https://bucketlistrewards.com/product. Alternatively, you can contact us for a free demo to find out how Bucketlist’s employee reward and recognition software can help you keep your workers happy and engaged.