Tangible Rewards

What are Tangible Rewards?

Tangible rewards are material rewards given by the manager or the company to its employees as a token of appreciation to recognize their efforts towards the company. Any monetary or non-monetary rewards that an employee can be benefitted from are tangible rewards.

Examples of tangible rewards are:

• Bonuses
• Salary increments
• Gift coupons
• Gym memberships
• Food baskets
• Free goods, etc.

Here’s an example to understand how companies can use tangible rewards.

Anita has successfully achieved her monthly sales target, and her manager decides to recognize this accomplishment by offering her an Amazon gift card. This also helps the manager in encouraging other employees. This type of recognition is called tangible reward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between tangible and intangible rewards?

Tangible rewards are materialistic rewards that are concrete, visible, and measurable. They also have some monetary value. On the contrary, intangible rewards are non-materialistic rewards that are not measurable, invisible, and do not have a monetary value.

What type of rewards comes under intangible rewards?

Intangible rewards are non-financial incentives given to employees in return for their efforts. Following are some examples of it.

• Appreciation from the manager
• Public recognition
• Subscription to a training program
• Flexible working schedule
• Lunches/dinner out
• Mentoring programs

How do tangible rewards advantageous to organizations?

Offering such types of rewards has many benefits for both the employee and the organization. They are:

• It appreciates employees’ good performance and efforts; as a result, the motivation to perform better increases.
• As the efforts are appraised, the loyalty to the employer is increased.
• Employee retention rates are improved.
• Employees gain confidence to put more effort into their work.

What are the drawbacks of tangible rewards?

These rewards do have some drawbacks. As employee expectations change, the motivation to earn these rewards also changes, and the same rewards won’t entertain them in the long run. Other possible drawbacks are:

• As these recognitions hold a monetary value, they can be costly for the companies.
• This appreciation approach may consume a lot of unnecessary time.
• It is essential to keep this approach continue; else, it will be considered a part of employee favoritism or bias.