Some days, workers seem to drag. They complain of long hours and no benefits. Often, businesses are stressed out because employees appear to be "out of it."
Typically, most companies offer a suite of benefits that take care of basic needs—health, life, vacation, personal leave. Occasionally, organizations that have more savvy leadership offer additional services to their people that help increase retention of employees or attract new hires as a more interesting place to work. The vast majority of working Americans receive their benefits from their employer, but some also receive a few extra perks if they belong to a union or association that provides additional services.
However, if your workplace seems more like a morgue than a pep rally, perhaps as a business owner, CEO, or human resources manager, you can consider offering low cost perks that help boost the morale of your employees. Consider that by adding some simple low cost programs that are employee paid, and possibly available through a program that provides access through a payroll deduction option, you have just jump started the excitement level of those individuals who work for you. Here are a few examples:
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1.) Lunch and learn. On a monthly basis, bring in a local expert to talk about a topic that your employees have indicated interest in knowing more about, such as how to get out of debt, how to prepare for retirement, how to be a better parent, or money saving tips for vacation. When you provide a good inexpensive meal and great interesting information for free to employees, you'll see their attitude change from drab to fab.
2.) Mentoring. When new employees start with your company, find a senior manager or employee that has proven leadership skills to work with the new hire and teach him or her the best ways to do their job. The new employee can learn more quickly about the corporate culture from the veteran, and find ways to improve their job skills. Providing ways for employees to learn and grow goes a long way to keep them around for a while, and have a work force that gets better as time goes by.
3.) Employee of the month. Incentivize your team to reach beyond the normal work responsibilities. If someone has exhibited great customer service, or has come up with good ideas that improve the company and your culture, reward them for it. But beyond just giving the employee a gift card or cash bonus, offer to take him or her and a spouse/significant other out to a nice dinner or concert and have a great time. The employee enjoys the experience and recognizes that their hard work really counts. Then once a year, put all the monthly winners into a drawing for a free weekend getaway at an upscale hotel. That will get their attention.
4.) Finance. Banking programs allow your employees to receive discounts and special benefits such as lower loan and account fees. Work with your local financial planner for tips on retirement goals. For deposits, checking and loans, line up a good bank or local credit union. Engage a CPA who offers discounts to your employees for tax services. Find a good attorney who provides legal advice and simple legal documents at a discounted rate or low flat fee per hour. When your employees know that you are looking out for their best financial interest instead of just your own, they will respect you for doing so.
5.) Discount programs. The marketplace has tremendous products and services available that are best-in-class and can provide value and savings to your employees, with little to no cost for businesses. Since the costs are voluntary, you can offer legitimate money saving options to your workers, such as ID theft protection, mobile phone discount programs and fitness centers/gym memberships. General discount programs offer discounts on things such as movie tickets, sporting event tickets, rental cars, theater tickets and more. Health care discount plans for dental, chiropractic care, vision services, labs and imaging, hearing aids, prescriptions and more save employees and their families money on services that may not be included in their health insurance, and at an extremely affordable rate.
6.) Party time. Once in a while, go crazy and throw a party. You can sponsor office celebrations based on holiday themes, birthdays or anniversaries, good news about employees or the company or any reason. Be responsible; be careful about offering any alcoholic beverages while on company time. And be tasteful—nobody wants to have a good time at the expense of someone else. But a little fun now and then helps to improve feelings around the office, and your employees appreciate the opportunity to blow off some steam once in a while.
Though these types of offerings certainly help bolster the morale of many employees, one of the most important things is to ask your employees what motivates them. Sitting down with employees and having a conversation about what they value and how they measure success goes a long way to find out how to motivate them for improved behavior. You may be surprised by the answers. The responses they give can suggest non-monetary rewards that can boost morale. Plus, the conversations themselves will make employees feel more motivated, appreciated and engaged, and will lead to boosts in morale just by taking time to ask.
Your employees' attitudes can make or break your company. If you find yourself limping along with disgruntled workers who sneer at you instead of smile, maybe you need to find out why. Offering perks to your employees to improve attitude and morale may cost you a few dollars, but the ROI is well worth any money expended to keep your boat afloat.
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