Great work starts with great people. Although most companies focus on scaling and optimizing to drive revenue, the impact of an employee incentive should not be overlooked. Employee incentives dramatically boost team morale and motivation, improving productivity and company culture at the same time.

Whether your company has an established employee rewards program already, or you’re looking to start small, recognizing your workers brings plenty of benefits. 

Here are 16 statistics that show the impact of employee incentives on job performance, retention rates, sales, and leadership. 

Employee Performance

1.  90% of business leaders believe that an engagement strategy could positively impact their business, yet only 25% of them actually have a strategy in place.

2.  Organizations with higher than average levels of employee engagement realized 27% higher profits, 50% higher sales, 50% higher customer loyalty levels, and 38% above-average productivity.

3.  51% of sales talent and 52% of employees are already participating in an incentive program at work.

4.  39% of employees feel underappreciated at work, with 77% reporting they would work harder if they were more recognized.

5.  42% of employees consider rewards and recognition programs opportunities when seeking employment.

Employee Retention

6.  A 5% increase in employee retention can generate a 25% to 85% increase in profitability.

7.  The presence of a corporate incentive program motivated 66% of employees to stay on their job.

8.  Organizations that offer at least one recognition program and have a low turnover rate (0-5%) report more recognition programs in place than the medium or high rate categories.

9.  41% of customers are loyal to a brand or company because they consistently notice a positive employee attitude, while 68% of customers deter from brands with negative employee attitudes.

Financial Costs & Gains

10.  Annual revenue increases are 3x higher in companies that use a tangible sales incentive over those that don’t use an additional incentive.

11.  Companies that executed a formal employee engagement program reported a 64% greater increase in the level of employee engagement than those without one.

12.  Every year, roughly $11 billion is lost due to employee turnover.

13.  Disengaged workers cost the economy $300 billion or more per year.

14.  Companies using incentive programs reported a 79% success rate in achieving their established goals when the correct reward was offered.

15.  Companies that actively engage workers profit more (an average 200.6% return) than those that don’t.

16.  Well-structured incentive programs can increase employee performance by as much as 44%.

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Looking for more? Check out  5 Employee Incentive Programs That Work