Incentives are one of the best ways to keep employees motivated. It plays into the value-based concept of a businessif you bring added value to the company, then you can expect value invested back into you.

Determining what incentives to offer to a team, however, requires dissecting the things that the group considers vital. It's a little bit more nuanced than merely giving them monetary benefits. Sometimes, it's not about the money, but rather respect and a sense of accomplishment.

To help, 14 members of Forbes Coaches Council look at the things team leaders should be mindful of when planning the incentives they intend to offer to their group.

Forbes Coaches Council members discuss what employers should think about when choosing incentives for their teams.

1. Understand What Drives Them

As a leader, I created a "How I Like To Be Coached" form that uncovers the drivers of each of my direct reports, as well as how they communicate. When getting a new team or while conducting a one-on-one chat, I use this document as a blueprint to see what keeps each employee motivated. Having this data will help you customize how and what will keep your team on task and successful. - Joyel Crawford, Crawford Leadership Strategies, LLC.

2. Be Aware Of Their Differences And Needs

Managers must be aware that incentives are a great motivator to influence their employees' behaviors. Also, be aware that individuals' differences and needs contribute to the type of incentives managers may provide. First, engage your employees by understanding what their needs are before providing any incentive. For example, an employee whose need is "recognition" may not be motivated by a monetary bonus. - Abraham Khoureis, Dr. Abraham Khoureis

3. Tie Incentives To Profit

It may seem intuitive to reward employees based on reaching a specific target such as sales or billing, but you may be disappointed with the results. My manufacturing company started a bonus based on production goals, prorating it by hours actually worked per employee. However, production at any cost was not our goal, so we revised the system to include profit goals. Reward what matters. - Lisa Kaiser Hickey, Spark Consultancy Group

4. Tailor The Incentive To The Individual

Incentives are what motivates human behavior. Different things motivate different individuals. It may be recognition (awards, public praise), money (raises, gift cards), time off, professional development, bonuses, promotions, access to senior leadership, ability to work on innovative projects, etc. One size does not fit all, and your employee will appreciate you seeing them as an individual. - Tim Ressmeyer, Ressmeyer Partners

5. Make Your Incentives Meaningful To Everyone

A myth about incentives is that employees are only motivated by compensation. Although money is a main motivator, offering it as the sole incentive will lead people to only work for short-term, financial gains. Include intrinsic rewards as well to motivate everyone and for the longer term. Thank yous, certificates of achievement, event tickets, vacation days, charitable donations will round it out. - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC

6. Make Them Feel Appreciated

Incentives can be a great way to motivate employees. A better strategy is to express gratitude. In fact, there is a growing body of research that suggests that people seek work elsewhere because they feel unappreciated or underrecognized. So, while a bonus may be welcome, if you're truly interested in motivating your team, you also need to think of ways to say thanks on a regular basis. - Camille Preston, PhD, PCC, AIM Leadership, LLC

7. Give Them A Sense Of Purpose

Pay raises, ping pong tables, bonusesall are great, but are only short-term fixes if an employee doesnt have a sense of purpose in their job. Team members want to feel like they are contributing to the greater good of an organization. - Aaron Levy, Raise The Bar

8. Create Smart Incentives

Attracting top talent and retaining it seems very challenging in big companies. Smart incentives might be methods to keep employees motivated to do their best work. Good examples? Regular paid time off. Everything connected with keeping employees healthywellness coaching, fitness, psychological support. Tuition reimbursement. They not only benefit employees, but organizations as well. - Inga Bieliska, Inga Arianna Bielinska Coaching Consulting Mentoring

9. Build A Culture Of Gratitude

Creating positive and lasting employee motivation requires a culture of gratitude and a supporting program that enables peer-to-peer recognition supported by management oversight and leadership championship. Shaping a culture of gratitude requires intentional leadership and commitment to develop incentive strategies that result in keeping positive employee energies sustained over time. - Lori Harris, Harris Whitesell Consulting

10. Include Them In A Broader Engagement Strategy

While incentives can be effective, they should be part of a broader employee engagement strategy. Business leaders should take a proactive and personalized approach to keeping employees motivated by getting to know their teams, learning their strengths and skills and helping them advance their careers. - Rick Gibbs, Insperity

11. Make Sure They Feel Engaged

Incentives are a great place to start. However, in today's business climate, they are only half the answer. Employees want to know their company cares about more than just profits. Employees want to know they have a voicethey want to be engaged in solving the problem. They want to be given the opportunity to stretch and do interesting work. And they want to work for inspiring leaders. - Felicia Lyon, Women Moving Mountains

12. Create Weekly Incentive Contests

Keeping teams motivated for ultimate productivity every single week to drive continued performance momentum can be daunting. Focus on weekly gift card incentive contests and launch them during Monday morning team huddles to conclude on Friday afternoon for short-term wins. This tactic will keep your team inspired to compete on a weekly basis and push for a chance at extra cash to spend on the weekend. - Lourdes Mestre, Marketing Muses

13. Offer A Variety Of Incentive Choices

Incentives can be a good tool when used properly to promote engagement and reward success. However, some employees may prefer a reward outside the traditional cash incentive. For example, floating vacation day(s), flex day(s), gym membership or spa service. Allowing an individual to choose the reward may produce an additional desire for accomplishment. - Deborah Hightower, Deborah Hightower, Inc.

14. Create The Culture That Becomes The Incentive

Incentives are good, but what incentive you focus on is critical. Are you providing external commission and gift rewards for certain people and behaviors? Thats a problem, not an incentive. Create a culture that recognizes contributions. Think living-system models, not Pavlov's dog. Building a culture that people want to be a part of is the attraction that motivates people. - Thomas Larkin, Communico, Westport CT

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14 Key Considerations When Choosing The Right Team Incentives - Forbes