When it comes to rewarding employees, one popular belief is that the prize of choice is cash. In today’s challenging economy, the battle of cash versus non-cash rewards is heating up. Incentive budgets are increasingly coming under scrutiny.

With organizations grappling with the challenge of doing more with less, planners must be able to justify proposed motivational programs and demonstrate ROI.

Now, meeting planners have more ammunition when it comes to proposing non-cash prizes and trips for incentives. Recent industry reports indicated that “tangible incentives” – incentives that carry monetary value but are non-cash in nature such as merchandise – are more attractive to employees.

The Incentive Research Foundation and the Incentive Federation recently teamed up to look at the impact of various incentives. Their report, which came out in September, tackled the question: Do you have the right award mix in place?

“Non-cash inducements are actually more effective and therefore, more efficient in capturing an employee’s attention. The current business economy continues to represent challenges for everyone. For program planners looking to make a bigger impact, non-cash tangible awards make better business sense.”

Another study published in The Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management compared cash and non-cash rewards among 45 insurance agents. The agents were divided into three teams during the program with three different incentives – travel, cash and their choice of merchandise.

Guess which team was the winner?

If you guess travel, you’re correct. Travel was the biggest motivator resulting in more sales by the “Travel Team.”

When comes to incentives, look beyond cash to find rewards that will truly motivate your employees.

Additional reading:

Incentive Research Foundation – The State of Tangible Incentive Research: the Use of Tangible Incentives