As intangible rewards go, job titles are sometimes overlooked as a way to motivate certain types of workers.
When you think of traditional employee rewards and incentives, you might picture a gift card to a restaurant, a fancy watch, or a catered lunch for the entire team. But as far as intangible rewards go, job titles are sometimes overlooked as a way to motivate certain types of workers.
Aside from their obvious relevance within the corporate hierarchy, holding a job title that designates a high position or something above a junior role, depending on where the employee is at in their career can be advantageous for many reasons.
Invest in their career progression
There is a marked difference between what it means to be a manager, associate, coordinator, and so on and one of the most common reasons that an employee may be looking to upgrade their job title is to eventually turn it into a career move.
That doesn't mean you'll be encouraging your high-performing employees to leave the company if you incentivise them with a higher job title; it simply demonstrates that you understand their desire for career progression, whether that happens next month, next year, or in five years from now.
However, it's also important to face the facts: Australians under 25 stay at their job for less than two years on average, and among those between 25 and 35, it's less than three years.
Investing in personnel development is an essential incentive.
In general, there are two main factors that make a job title promotion attractive to employees:
1. It provides proof of progression within the company
With people bouncing from job to job increasingly frequently, they have a limited amount of time to prove their worth in any given role. Giving employees the chance to quickly climb the ranks (or at least one rank!) if they meet certain productivity goals gives them the chance to build a CV that shows them occupying multiple roles at the same company. In turn, this proves to future employers that they are a worthy hire who can add value to a company.
2. It can avoid them having their CV cast aside
It doesn't matter how qualified a candidate is if their most recent job title doesn't match up with the position they're applying for, they very well may not be considered for the job. A more prestigious title can therefore go a long way towards giving employees a sense of security about their future, no matter when they might choose to cash in on it.
Give them a reason to feel inspired
Have you ever heard the expression "dress for the job you want?" So much of what happens in the workplace is aspirational, and pinning a more prestigious title on a deserving employee encourages them to step up to the plate in a whole new way.
For example, a worker who starts at the bottom of the food chain as an associate may not have a deep sense of personal responsibility when it comes to their work. There are likely lots of managers above them, and they're one of many.
However, once they step into the role of supervisor, their landscape changes: now they have some skin in the game. They have subordinates, a little more responsibility, and a reason to feel proud of their accomplishments. All of a sudden, this newly-minted supervisor has a new perspective on their role within your company!
Of course, job titles aren't an ideal incentive for every type of employee. At Power2Motivate, we work with you to determine the best possible rewards structure for your business, so you can make your efforts count. To get started, fill out our contact form and we'll get back to you ASAP.