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[MaryG]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reward employees with out giving them money?  I know some places give employees plaques, but are there any other things to reward employees with?

[Timber]

I would suggest giving employees tickets to a local event or sports game.  Another suggestion is to give employees free dinners, a trophy, certificates of recognition, books, tapes, or videos.  You may even want to give them electronic merchandise such as a new computer, fax machine, or ipod. 

[Lisette]

Sometimes having a reward ceremony where people are presented the prizes at the top annual conference and given a letter of thanks from the President can be a good way.  This allows them to get written up in the company newsletter and have their success shared by lots of people.

Then as Timber said, there are a range of options which do not involve cash but cost money - I personally like meals out with the family, paid short break holiday - two nights in a hotel - or dinner and show or something like that.  If your company keeps really tight control on branded merchandise this can be a good option as well but if it does not then it is less valuable.

The third group of options I think are work related but no less valuable - being given the opportunity to go to a business conference and exhibition or training course that you would not normally have access to.  Being invited to join a project team.  Some companies very effectively use projects as reward vehicles. Which gives the individual recognition and learning opportunities and can also really help the company by creating diverse, high performing project teams