It is said that the greatest asset of a company is its employees. Finding new, quality, productive employees is time consuming and expensive. 
Retaining the employees you already have is much more cost effective. One of the easiest ways to do so is by making the workplace a fun enjoyable place to be. One bonus to making the workplace fun is that you can do so while increasing productivity by offering fun incentives for friendly competition.
The following list is merely a starting point but offers some great suggestions on ways to encourage your employees through friendly competition all while boosting morale and sales.
Sales Drawing
For each sale that an employee makes during a period of time (try to keep it to less than four weeks) they will get a ticket to enter a drawing. Make the prizes fun and exciting such as lunch out with the boss, a massage, a wine gift basket , etc. Conduct a meeting where the prizes are drawn or, if you have the budget, host a fun company wide lunch or picnic and make it a fun social affair.
Time Off
Extra time off is high valued by employees. For this contest inform your employees that the first person to hit a certain benchmark (number of sales closed for example) will get to go home at noon the coming Friday. You can either make this a long term competition as in every month whomever reaches the benchmark first gets the time off, or you can announce it on a Monday morning to create a bit of a sales blitz that week.
Team Competition
If your office works in teams then focusing your competitions around those teams is a great option. This is especially helpful because it will include all your support staff which is rarely included in sales competitions but are essential to making the sales happen. Divide your office into teams (either already existing ones or create them). Offer whichever teams completes the most sales, from start to finish, in a designated period of time. Rewards should be whimsical and fun such as an afternoon at the local arcade (paid time off too!) or a trip to the miniature golf course.
Best New Innovation
Most employees have come up with processes that help them do their work more efficiently. Often these innovations would benefit the entire organization but there isn't always a forum to share those ideas. For this competition ask all the employees to write up and send in their best new innovation for your office. It could be a revamped process, a way to save money, a shortcut they have discovered. Assemble a panel of managers to judge the submissions and then offer the winner a paid day off along with a plaque and gloating rights. Run this contest at least once a year and don’t forget to implement the winning ideas!
Latest posts by Chase Heckendorn (see all)
- Guide to Encouraging Your Employees with Friendly Competition - April 9, 2013
