"We had our best year ever at the end of June.  I think it was all because of the excellent work by our sales-force of nine.  Our management team has decided to share some of the profits with them in form of cash bonus, but I am suggesting that we also do something other than writing a check.  What do you suggest?

First of all, congratulations, on your approach.  I always suggest a tiered approach when rewarding good performance by a company:

1. Customers

2. Employees

3. Shareholders

4. Anyone else

When you appreciate the work that your employees are doing, it is not an "expense".  It is an "investment".  Good employees, particularly good salespeople, are always in high demand.  So if you do not treat them well and reward them adequately for their performance, they will feel under-appreciated and likely to bolt when the chance comes.  Cash bonuses are always appreciated by American workers but most of the time, the money goes into the bank, and they do not think much about it after a week or two.  Thus, non-cash compensation is critical, even if small.  You must have noticed that employees talk for weeks about the holiday parties or a company outing.  In case of GE, there are numerous stories of Jack Welch sending flowers and champagne bottles to the homes of best performers.  (Related article:  How to attract and retain great employees?)

The current trend is to treat your employees to a spa vacation for a weekend.  You must also pay for their spouses (or one guest) and it is not a good idea to combine business with the vacation though I have seen that a motivational speaker is sometimes invited.  Some businesses might organize a training session but not for learning the latest programming tools of .NET or nano-technology.  If you must, you could organize a short training session on a soft skill, e.g., leadership or time management or team-building.

Spa resorts offer several vacation packages for business people.  You must pay for some spa treatments as well along with lodging and meals, so that one does not need to spend any money of their own to have a true spa experience.  A spa vacation is different and both men and women enjoy them.  Despite the high standard of living in the United States, and very rapid growth in the number of spa resorts, it is still not common for most people to visit a spa or visit regularly.  Therefore, not only will a vacation like this relax/recharge your sales-force, they are also more likely to remember and talk about it for a long time.

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