Small Businesses often fear they cannot offer their employees benefits without incurring a substantial cost; this is often untrue. There are voluntary benefit policies still available in many areas without the employer assuming greater costs. Employees can enroll in voluntary health, life,dental & vision plans & still receive "group rates" without requiring an employer contribution and often without requiring a majority percentage of employee participation.
Employers often fail to recognize that the "availability" of certain benefits, 401k (matched or unmatched) programs, financial advisors or estate planners can all reassure employees & potential employees that their employer is concerned for their well-being. If employers represent a sense of loyalty to the employee, the act is often reciprocated.
Additionally, Christmas clubs, retail discounts, gym membership discounts & travel club membership availability on a voluntary basis costs little if anything to the employer but communicates to your employees that you want to offer them the things larger companies can.
Health & Wellness "fairs" can be performed inexpensively & promote healthier employees. Something as simple as scheduling your company’s work comp physicians office or local clinic to come to your business & offer flu shots to employees & their families can do a lot for employee loyalty. The other benefit to this is, you have healthier employees who are more productive & experience less absenteeism.
Some Valuable Simple Gestures:
Send birthday cards to employees or providing a couple of movie passes so they can share an evening with their spouse or significant other
Have one day a month at the office or plant when you celebrate birthdays for the month at lunchtime with a cake & ice cream.
Offer a half day off or $20 gas card to employees who show a little extra initiative or reward with restaurant gift card for dinner for doing a great job on a project. (There are many sites to purchase discounted gift cards such as : www.cheapcheapcheap.com , www.plasticjungle.com, www.ebate.com, and even www.ebay.com)
Have a pizza Party for a team or production line for exceeding goals or meeting deadlines. (Papa Johns offers special deals for certain number ordered & some others may as well)
Make arrangements with a local florist to pick up discounted bouquets for ladies
Recognize an employee publicly with a handshake if your budget is really tight.
Never under value the significance of "little things".
Even when things are tough & you may feel you are not able to offer your employees a raise or a bonus, these little "extras" can make a difference when an employee has an opportunity to accept another position elsewhere.
So…take time to consider these ideas now…it won’t cost ANYTHING to do that!
