“What can I use to push my employees to perform better, produce more, work harder, and just be more efficient?” This is a very common question managers and business owners ask. If you’re one and you know that you’ve done all you could to handsomely compensate your employees with competitive salaries, benefits, and the other usual perks, what else can you offer to motivate them to be more productive and stay loyal? Of course, there’s also the element of reward. You also want to show them that you recognize and appreciate their efforts.

There’s always room for employee improvement, which is why it’s important to figure out the right motivation for your staff. Cash is usually the fuel that will get most people’s motor going; however, they may want it and be glad to receive it, but they also tend to take it for granted. You want to offer something more memorable, but has about the same level of appeal as money. Many companies find the right answer in an employee travel incentive program.

Travel actually has a really high perceived value, and it is obviously something that many like to brag about. Common social media behavior will attest to this. Cash, on the other hand, disappears all too quickly and typically leaves no lasting memories, even when it was spent on something dire. In contrast, a trip to Hawaii or some other trendy destination is an experience to await beforehand and then cherish afterward.

At the end of the day, you can use different rewards to motivate your employees, but it all boils down to two considerations: cost and efficacy. How cost-effective is it to offer travel? Is the expense worth it in returns? Do your employees actually end up generating more income for the company because of this incentive?

If you have yet to implement an employee travel incentive program and are interested in doing so, you can dip your proverbial toe by starting out small. How about offering to the top producers free trips to a common, but still attractive, business destination like Las Vegas or New York? The recipients of the reward will talk about their experience and probably post pictures on social media sites. Your other employees will realize what a treat the offered incentive is and that they can work toward deserving it as well by producing more.You reward a handful of employees, but the effect is company-wide. Everybody becomes motivated.

Money is useful, but travel is far more enriching. It’s no wonder that it has turned out in many cases as a more effective motivator.