How Small Businesses are Offering Big Business Perks
If your clients are like most organizations, they’re looking for creative and modern ways to attract new candidates and retain talent. Offering fresh office perks is a great place to start. When companies include meaningful perks, employees can experience reduced stress and increased engagement, and they will likely want to stay with an organization longer.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would your clients bother spending money on perks when they could just pay their employees more? It’s important to note that 53 percent of workers worldwide have a high or somewhat high intent to stay in their current positions. Offering stand-out perks in addition to competitive pay gives employees more reason to stay and more incentive to tell their friends what a great job they have.
An owner of a small business might be concerned about the budget for these trendy office perks. However, in many cases, they don’t need a big budget to offer them. Read on to learn some fail-proof ways for small businesses to offer big perks.
Food & Fun
Everyone loves free food, and what better way to implement this than by offering snacks in the office? The most attractive desirable companies stock their break rooms for their employees, and buying in bulk from Sam’s Club or Costco can save money. To take this perk to the next level, consider catered lunches. These don’t need to be a daily occurrence, but frequent enough that the team looks forward to the event.
Tip: Other fun and inexpensive ideas include holiday food events that everyone participates in. A fall chili cookoff, pie baking competition, or holiday cookie decorating competitions are inexpensive ways to boost engagement and offer fun treats for staff.
When it comes to having fun in the workplace, put an emphasis on the work hard, play hard motto. Encourage teamwork and friendly competition with collaborative games during a weekly happy hour. It might cost a bit more in the short-run, but having a ping pong or pool table in the office can benefit employees and the company in the long-run. Leadership can also tie-in corporate social responsibility outings in the community.
Fitness & Health
Healthcare in the workplace isn’t solely about obtaining the best healthcare plan. Reach out to gyms to create a partnership for employees. Even a small discount on memberships could be enough for thankful employees to take advantage of. Leadership could even encourage employees to record how often they make it to the gym and reward them per workout.
Tip: Elect an in-house wellness team to focus on monthly health competitions for small prizes and recognition. For example, encourage employees to record their daily water consumption and reward the top contender.
Encourage employees to be champions of their own physical and mental health. Consider offering a small health stipend for employees to use toward a health-related activity they would enjoy. One employee may find value in a weekly yoga class, while another would find more value in a spin class, and another may prefer to improve the bike they ride to the office!
Vacation & Flextime
Offering vacation and flex time is a must when it comes to competing with big companies. Offer employees work from home days and flex schedule options. Two-thirds of managers report that employees who work from home increase their overall productivity, and in the comfort of their own home or a coffee shop, distractions are minimized. Flex-time helps to relieve work-life stress as it gives employees the option to make their schedule work for their family. Leadership should make sure to encourage employees to use their vacation time, so they return refreshed and reengaged.
Large companies have sizable budgets set aside for employee perks, but small businesses can creatively offer things that are equally enticing for top talent. When it comes to attracting the right people to a company and boosting employee retention, improving company culture in these categories leads to organizational success.
