Another thought on the issue of cash and non-cash: Properly designed, non-cash offerings are also a great way to stretch your budget when you want to reward and recognize more people than you can otherwise afford. It’s only natural that companies devise cash payouts that reward the very best performers. But is that the smartest approach? “The same people always win” is a common lament among participants. In the process of trying hard not to upset top performers, companies run the risk of overpaying them and disenfranchising the bulk of the employee population. Top performers do deserve the most attention but are additional dollars the best solution? By slightly tweaking funding rates (easier to do in a non-cash program) to more strongly motivate the middle segment of the population, aggregate incremental gains will be stronger.   In addition, you can devise payout structures that are variable (using games of chance for winnings) are also good ways to control costs. The effect is a fix cost approach to a variable incremental gain.