Marcus Richards
Keeping your employees engaged and happy is vital in keeping them motivated. However, while that may seem like a straightforward statement, actually achieving this may not be. Employee needs are not simple, and a method of keeping one employee happy might not work for another. Offering better quality employee benefits is a popular method of improving the happiness of your workforce, and it can even improve your recruitment success. Here are some ideas for you to enhance the morale and motivation of your team using rewards and benefits.
Recognition
First and foremost, we have a very simple motivational tool, and that is recognition. Many business owners forget the impact that a simple pat on the back or a thankful email can give our employees. Showing our gratitude for a job well done or simply the time that an employee has spent on a task goes a long way. When we complete a particularly arduous or long-winded task that goes unrecognised, it can leave us feeling deflated and less inclined to try as hard with the next task. Furthermore, that recognition could even inspire an employee to work even harder next time, too, improving the productivity of your business.
Education Funding
One of the most challenging enemies of businesses today is employee stagnation. Many people, especially younger workers, will begin to question their time spent at a company if they see no routes for progress or improvement. While you might not have many promotion opportunities for your employees right now, providing them with something to sink their teeth into can be a huge bonus for you and them. Paying for further education or training opportunities for your employees to hone their skills is a great scenario for both parties. It improves their skills to help them do their job better, it keeps them motivated in their role and improves their productivity, and it also reduces their chances of leaving to find a company that offers them more.
Commuter Help
While many businesses are adopting hybrid or entirely remote working models, there are still some businesses that need certain employees to work at the office, which means that commuting is required. For some, this may be a ten to fifteen-minute walk, but for others, it might mean a few hours of travelling via car, train or even plane in some cases. Help your employees out by covering their travel costs, such as paying for tickets or reimbursing their fuel costs. These can otherwise be incredibly expensive, and receiving assistance here is enough for someone to choose to work for your company over another.
Company Car
Similar to paying for fuel and transport tickets, a company car can be a fantastic benefit for certain employees. While you don’t necessarily have to pay for a car for everyone in your business, you could do this for more competitive roles such as specific managerial positions. You may not even have to purchase company cars to lend to these employees either. You could choose to lease them instead, potentially saving some money while offering those employees a better choice of vehicle. Don’t forget that electric cars aren’t suitable for everyone, and it’s wise to check with that employee beforehand. This survey on electric cars may be a good resource to send to employees or look over as a management team.
Discount Packages
There are many businesses out there that have started to offer special discount packages for their employees too. Services like this will allow employees to make use of a range of great discounts and offers when they’re a part of your business. They could get money off their grocery, tech, and clothes shopping, great offers for fun activities, and even great holiday deals. These schemes can help your employee’s salaries stretch a little bit further, and it can help to improve their motivation knowing that they have access to great opportunities and discounts like this. Of course, it all depends on whether or not your team would be happy with this or not, and it’s always worth running these ideas past them first to ensure that it’s something they’d make use of.
Flexible Working
Whether you have an office space or not, offering your employees the opportunity to work remotely or to have some more control over their hours can be hugely beneficial. Remote working, be it permanently or in a hybrid-manner, can significantly boost your team’s morale and reduce the need for you to pay for commuting costs. Flexible working, such as allowing your team to choose when they start, will also help improve the quality of their life outside of work. This allows parents to complete school runs with ease and can also cater to early birds who may want to start and finish earlier to make use of those extra daylight hours they’d otherwise be spending sitting at their desks.
