How to Use Incentives for Compliance in the Workplace

If you are an organization struggling to maintain compliance despite compliance training courses and other efforts, then you most likely have begun considering offering incentives to encourage positive behavior changes.

If constant reminders, bulletins, emails refresher cybersecurity learning training, and meetings don’t do the trick, then you may want to begin placing a carrot at the end of the stick to wave at!

That said, here’s a quick guide to using incentives appropriately for compliance in the workplace.

1. Incentivizing Participation 

If you want to build a culture of compliance, you need to shift perception. Employees can’t and shouldn’t assume that someone else is responsible for remaining compliant. When employees are aware of their responsibilities and how important compliance is for business success, then the risks can be mitigated substantially.

Numerous employees simply see compliance training as a box to check from their list, a mundane task they need to get over as quickly as possible. Despite all the efforts to try to make compliance interesting, this training won’t exactly thrill every employee, and that’s fine. That’s where incentivizing comes along, which can help spring motivation in employees. 

2. Find a Strong Monitor

For starters, you’ll need to have a powerful motivator. If you don’t, then you can’t drive employee participation effectively. After all, if the prize isn’t good, who would be willing to follow the rules, right?

Here are popular incentive options and their pros and cons:

• Merchandise: Merchandise, particularly clothes and sunglasses, is one of the most popular items to use as incentives because they are easily accessible. However, the abundance of merchandise is a disadvantage. If things are so accessible and varied, the process of selecting merch becomes overwhelming.
• Cash: Cash is a very attractive incentive because it’s flexible, with employees having the choice to spend it however they choose. It’s the ideal incentive but the drawback is how unmemorable it becomes. Non-cash rewards would outperform cash rewards as recipients would use cash to pay for their daily expenses, so while it’s practical, it isn’t memorable or exciting.
• Gift Cards: These have been at the top of wish lists for over a decade since they are easy, desirable, and cost-effective. However, if you don’t have an established partner to streamline delivering gift cards, the process becomes manual. You’ll need to avoid situations where you’ll have to visit stores to get gift cards directly and store them securely. Fortunately, there are now virtual gift cards for convenience. 

3. Reach All Employees 

Now, you must reach all employees, which may be more complicated as they spread out. There are lead times, and shipping, among other added fees that can impact your timeline and budget. That’s why digital incentives are the way to go, such as sending cash over digital payment methods or e-gift cards.

Going digital is an excellent way to reach all employees, even if they are located in other countries. 

Wrapping It Up

If you plan on incentivizing employees for them to maintain compliance, follow the tips above.