Can incentive plans really boost employee engagement?

Faith Ocampo Published on April 24, 2017

problematic female call center agent sitting by laptop looking at red opened gift box

To keep productivity levels high, many call centers implement a performance-based incentive system, allowing them to identify and reward their top agents. Can this technique really boost employee engagement?

Rewarding high-performing employees with extra cash or a higher pay is one of the most common engagement tactics that companies employ. It’s especially common among customer service firms, which are known for staggering cases of employee burnout and turnovers.


When you look at it closely, however, an incentive-driven performance management approach can create the opposite effect. Here’s why.

1. Performance appraisals are flawed.

coworkers reviewing studying printed contract

Traditional performance evaluation, especially the annual or semi-annual ones, are usually reliant upon managers’ memories and perceptions about their employees. This makes the entire system flawed. It places managers in an uncomfortable position, and call center agents may act defensive when they get ratings that seem unfair or inaccurate.

It’s better to rely on actual data extracted from the key performance indicators and customer support metrics you track. But even then, you can’t use them as the sole basis for evaluating employees, especially if most of them are quantitative. To make up for this gap, you must also consider your agents’ attitudes at work and other qualities that numbers can’t encapsulate.

2. Money isn’t a motivator.

Money is an important factor that professionals consider when they look for a job. Indeed, the smaller employees’ salaries are, the more concerned they’ll be about money matters. But doubling their pay doesn’t always ensure that they’ll be more productive or satisfied. Rewarding call center agents with higher pay can create a temporary behavior change, but in most cases, it doesn’t create a lasting positive impact on performance.

A more sustainable employee engagement strategy would be to focus on people’s emotions. Create an environment that values employees’ unique expertise and contributions, and make them feel that they belong in your organization. Furthermore, make them feel that you trust them by challenging them and investing on their growth.

3. Not getting a reward is a form of punishment.

disgruntled office employee opening emplty gift box

When you adopt an incentive-driven performance management approach, you single out employees who are deserving of a reward based on their track record. But those who don’t get recognized may feel like they’re being punished. They may even feel alienated from the rest of the team, which does nothing to boost their morale and happiness in the workplace.

4. Incentive systems may ruin employee relationships.

Rewarding individual employees based on their performance appraisal results breeds competition. You create a culture wherein call center agents must outshine one another. As a result, your people would be more concerned about individual improvement instead of team-based efforts, a mindset that could spell disaster for customer service firms. Agents may consider their own teammates a barrier to their own success. And when this happens, what you have is an underperforming, difficult-to-manage team.

5. Rewards discourage risk-taking.

woman relaxing in office feet up surrounded by large gifts

You want to have a team that dares to take risks, try new strategies, and create new ideas, because that’s how innovation happens. But when you reward employees for adhering to certain behaviors, you’re reinforcing the idea that failure isn’t an option. Without a safety net, therefore, employees may choose to stick to tried-and-tested processes instead of experimenting with new ways of thinking and doing things.

It’s thus better to incentivize employees not just for achieving certain goals but also for how effectively they executed a task. Doing so will encourage them to pay more attention to their work processes, which almost always ensures great outcomes.

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 2 hours ago
Being able to communicate with customers in their own language is crucial for global brands seeking to expand their reach.

Multilingual #CallCenters play a vital role in this aspect, providing seamless communication between brands and customers.

But is that all there is to it? Check out our blog to find out more ways multilingual call centers help global brands:
https://buff.ly/P7xijuu

โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”
Learn more about how our multilingual outsourcing services can help grow your business and expand your customer base: https://buff.ly/rQ4q1FV

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #MultilingualCallCenter
Open Access BPO 7 hours ago
Call centers embrace innovation, no doubt.
However, this goal can be achieved more easily by being creative.

This #NationalCreativityDay, check out our blog as we discuss just how important #creativity is in #CallCenters, so have a read now: https://buff.ly/08qFhTs

----------
Transforms customer interactions into exceptional #CustomerExperience with our skilled & creative #CX reps!

Contact us today and we'll elevate your brand's #CX:
https://buff.ly/rQ4q1FV

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CSat
#OutsourcingCustomerService
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฃ๐—ข ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—•๐——๐—ข ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜€

Open Access BPO recently hosted an exclusive financial literacy webinar on May 22, 2025, specifically designed to equip its employees with essential knowledge for personal #FinancialSecurity.

The event, ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜'๐˜€ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—•?: ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—™๐˜‚๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฆ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, was organized in collaboration with @BDO Life and featured the financial organization's Senior Assistant VP, Edward Castro as guest lecturer.

The webinar centered on crucial aspects of #ProtectionPlanning, offering clear, actionable guidance on how to secure future financial stability. It explored a range of practical financial strategies, from traditional savings and investments to entrepreneurial ventures.

This initiative is a reflection of Open Access BPO's deep commitment to the overall well-being and financial stability of its workforce. This webinar is one of many planned employee engagement activities aimed to help our employees grow personally and professionally.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#IdeaHubOABPO
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฃ๐—ข ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐™‹๐™ก๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™ฉ ๐™๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ง๐™™ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ-๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฐ, ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ.

Held in Barangay Eden, Toril District in Davao City's upland Toril District, employee volunteers planted 100 seedlings of the Philippine indigenous white Lauaan forest tree.

Partnering with the Department of Environment and Natural Resourcesโ€“Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO), this effort aids in the vital reforestation and rehabilitation of the Talomo-Lipadas Watershed, a crucial water source for Davao City.

๐˜—๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ highlights Open Access BPO's deep corporate social responsibility, demonstrating a tangible commitment to environmental impact and fostering a sustainable community.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOPlantItForward
#OABPOcares #IdeaHubOABPO
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
It's easy to assume that dips in your #CustomerService team's #productivity is because of laziness.

But be extra observant, because it could be an indication of a deeper concern: ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜.

๐—•๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ:
โ€ข low productivity
โ€ข high employee attrition
โ€ข tanking service levels

Here are indications that your #CustomerSupport agents are burning out (and some team management tips for handling them!): https://buff.ly/UGegOw8

โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”
Go with the #outsourcing #BPO that cares for its teams: https://buff.ly/WKtkHMe

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#EmployeeManagement
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
Night shift work inherently presents unique hurdles for #CallCenter agents, primarily through the disruption of natural sleep cycles.

This impact on their well-being can be substantial.

Here's how to foster a more supportive environment for your night shift team: https://buff.ly/SbBAZ1R

โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”
We're an employee-centric BPO company, so fostering a culture of employee care is part of our core.

Learn how ensure employee satisfaction with programs and opportunities for our teams to grow and thrive: https://buff.ly/3yaDcXW

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CallCenterManagement #EmployeeManagement
#MentalHealthMonth #MHM2025 #OABPOforMentalHealth
#MentalHealthAwarenessMonth