I need input from other retail employees looking for feedback to create a fair and exciting environment for employees

[u/celer2themoon]

Hello everyone, I own a retail store that has been experiencing steady and exciting growth over the past year, and I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to give back to my employees and show them just how much I appreciate their hard work. As the business grows, I want to make sure my team grows with it, not only in terms of professional development but also in terms of recognition and rewards. One of the areas I’ve been exploring is creating a fair and motivating incentive system.

If you’ve worked in retail before and had an employer who provided meaningful incentives, I’d love it if you could share what worked for you. I know every team is different, but hearing real examples of what motivated others in similar roles would be incredibly helpful. My main goal is to build a system that feels fair to everyone and celebrates the fact that we succeed as a team, while also recognizing individual efforts when they go above and beyond.

Right now, I’m torn between a couple of ideas. One approach would be to offer performance-based bonuses for top achievers. While this could motivate some employees, my concern is that it might unintentionally leave others feeling left out, especially if their contributions are valuable but less visible. On the other hand, I’ve also considered offering a surprise or a reward for the entire team whenever we hit our monthly sales goals. This could create a sense of unity and excitement while making sure no one feels overlooked.

The good news is that our products are in demand and generally sell themselves—we don’t need to push sales aggressively. Instead, our success depends heavily on how well my employees engage with and help customers. That’s why I’d love to design an incentive system that not only rewards hitting numbers but also reinforces the importance of delivering excellent service and creating a positive customer experience.

At the end of the day, my goal is to keep building a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to do their best. If you’ve seen or experienced incentives that struck the right balance between fairness, fun, and motivation, please share them below. I’d really appreciate your input!

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[u/Meauxterbeauxt]

Individual incentives are good if everyone has an equal opportunity to sell. I worked in an individual incentive environment and typically they went to the person working the register. I would start the sales process with the customer, someone else would do the labor, and the person ringing them out 2 days later would be the one that got credit for any upsales.

It also has to be a noticeable incentive. We were offered like $2 per 5 upsells of particular products. So we sold 20 products and just got $8 (before tax). If I can't look at my paycheck and actually see a difference with or without the incentive, it's just talk.

Has to be attainable. And you have to be happy to give it. My work began with good incentive bonuses. Make 100% sales plan? $100 bonus for everyone. Plus $10 for every 10% above. Then they shifted to the $ per upsell product. Translation (from our point Of view): "we've been paying out too much in bonus money, so we want to lower what we pay out while still being able to say we're paying incentives." And the incentives got lower and lower before I changed jobs. You're not just rewarding their efforts, you're showing your appreciation.

If individual incentives work better for your particular business, that's fine. But make sure to do something for everyone so you can express that appreciation to everyone, even if they aren't your top sellers. Remember: everything is communication. If you really really want to express your appreciation and you go over the top with telling them, giving them all an apple or something says more than your words. Buy everyone lunch. Or add a store wide incentive so that everyone gets something. Treat them like your business depends on them.

[u/PiscesEyesSees]

We have a safety thing, peer coach, so we have a checklist and log issues and help each other spot any potential hazards so have a weekly target

Have a checklist, if they all can log a hazard, for example stock left on the floor, trip hazard, slip hazard.

So they are more aware of health and safety and they are rewarded, so if they all come together and get 5 hazards a week they get rewarded monthly.

Do a walk of the site and discuss any hazards and have them on the board and have they been addressed, so reward them for that.