In a perfect world, every employee would come to work 15 minutes early, give 110% all day, and be happy with their pay. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.

We all are human, with human tendencies to become bored, have a need to feel valued, and want more from our job. This is why it has been a quest for many managers to develop the perfect employee incentive program, including cash, time off, gifts, and luncheons. But let’s simplify the quest for the perfect incentive program.

To start incentivizing, you need to know what matters to your employee. Some employees enjoy praise, while others struggle financially. Some employees need recognition, while others crave more time off. In my experience, all employees want to be part of something bigger, part of a team with common goals. As an employer and manager, knowing how to motivate your employees is key to creating a successful incentive program.

GRATITUDE

Begin with gratitude. Growing up in the South, one of the first things we are taught is to say “please” and “thank you” when passing food at Sunday dinner. It is easy to give a good “thank you,” but feels even better to receive a “thank you.” People like to feel appreciated. They want to know what they have done has made a difference, and a “thank you” is more than sufficient in doing that.

The other good thing about gratitude is that it is contagious. One “thank you” can lead to others paying it forward.

Our staff works hard to make sure the clinics run seamlessly, and they deserve a “thank you” and to know we care — I make it a point to go to every employee at the end of the day and say, “thank you.” This is the most inexpensive way to incentivize staff to stay with a practice.

RECOGNITION

Follow gratitude with recognition. Giving a small gift card, voucher, or social media post for a job well done can have a huge impact on an employee.

During the 2016 Olympics, for example, one of my office managers purchased a plastic gold medal. At each staff meeting an employee who went above and beyond - for instance, assisting with another employee’s workload when they are busy with other work — received the gold medal for that week.

That employee, in turn, chose the next gold medalist who had a stellar performance the following week. Staff coveted the opportunity to wear the plastic medal, and it was used for more than four years,serving as a huge source of incentivizing employees to stay with the practice.

We also recently started using a “comment jar” for employees. When a staff member goes beyond normal expectations to help a patient or colleague, another staff member can anonymously leave a comment in the jar describing what they did. At our monthly meeting, we read the comments and the best “helper” gets a stuffed bear to keep at their desk.

TEAM EXPERIENCES

Some employees enjoy a team experience, in the form of a travel getaway. I feel like this type of incentive can be the most powerful and effective.

After Christmas one year, employees were complaining about holiday weight gain, so we decided to set a goal to run a 5K in mid-February. As a group, we made two goals. One was based on yearly contact lens sales, while the other was based on miles walked/ran every week up until race time. Each week, the employees recorded their sales and miles on a large poster board in the kitchen. During that January and February, we had the most yearly contact lens sales in company history. We went to Nashville, and participated in the Hot Chocolate 5K. The staff still talk about that experience today.

FLEXIBILITY

From my own experience, my millenial workers appreciate job flexibility ­— they want to be able to take time off and enjoy working at places other than their job site, like coffee shops and parks. Recent articles, such one from “Forbes” sharing data on the different “work generations” (bit.ly/WorkGenerations ) and survey results from professional services company PwC (pwc.to/3iOSqun ), back this up.

I know what you are thinking: We have to perform exams in the office. How can I let my employees work remotely? My answer is to be creative.

Every office has jobs that can be completed remotely, such as ordering contact lenses, verifying insurance, and confirming appointments. Offering a remote day of work as an incentive to stay with your practice could be advantageous in many ways. We would promote cross-training jobs which can performed remotely, so, for instance, a tech could spend a day working from home doing scheduling, insurance verification, or ordering.

TIME OFF

Time off is cherished and coveted by most staff. It also has mental and physical health benefits. Data, shared in articles by the Harvard Business Review (bit.ly/HBRVacation ) and The Entrepreneur (bit.ly/ENTRVacation ), have shown that employees who take vacations have less stress, a better outlook on life, and are more motivated to achieve goals.

Some optometry practices take this a step further, closing their offices for vacation or the week of Christmas and giving all staff paid vacation time (this usually includes placing an outgoing message on their voicemail that provides a number patients can contact for emergency care). If financially feasible for a practice, this could not only increase productivity long-term but also help retain and hire employees.

OWNERSHIP

In my experience, if you involve employees in the process of goal-making, they feel more responsible and vested in achieving those goals. As an example, my staff set a goal of increasing collection of money for yearly contact lens sales. Many patients would order a 6-month supply of lenses by phone, and we would end up with outstanding orders waiting to be picked up and paid for. We found that as patients prepaid for the lenses upon prescription, they were more likely to come in and pick them up.

This level of ownership and engagement would help prevent “quiet quitting,” a hot topic in the business world that refers to employees doing only the bare minimum to complete job tasks. This happens when employees are disengaged, and it is an increasingly common alternative to resignation. In my experience, if your employees feel they have a purpose in your company, and that they are needed and have the resources to do their job, they are less likely to become disconnected.

COMPENSATION

In our current economic environment, many employees live paycheck to paycheck and need the extra money; however, if compensation is not handled properly, it could lead to a sense of entitlement. For instance, if the bonus is given for individual performance, it could create unhealthy competition and animosity among employees. On the other hand, some employees are motivated by money, either out of necessity or by the thrill of earning more.

Money as an incentive can be a proficient motivator, but should be employed cautiously. At my practice, we recently set up a quarterly bonus system where employees shared profits, setting a goal over what we had made that same quarter in the previous year. If the goal was made, employees would receive a percentage of the profits; we used a quarterly goal instead of a yearly one in order to keep the staff more engaged.

BRINGING A PLAN TOGETHER

When choosing an incentive plan, knowing the wants and needs of your employees is key. A manager has to create a balanced plan to factor all those needs. This may consist of alternating incentives quarterly to keep all employees engaged and involved. Tracking performances and employee enthusiasm after meeting goals is most helpful in developing successful incentive programs. Continuing to invest in your employees will be a rewarding experience for your management team and business. OM

DR. REYNOLDSON practices at Camden Eye Care Associates, in Camden, Tenn., and River Valley Eye Clinic, in Waverly, Tenn. She is past president of the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians, and current vice chair of the Tennessee Board of Optometry.