Creative Staff Perks for Small Businesses
By Kathy Kentty

When you own a small business, you often can’t offer expensive perks to your employees for a job well done. At the same time, strong competition for top employees is causing compensation costs to soar, as small companies compete with large corporations with deeper pockets. Smaller companies may need to be more creative to produce perks and benefits to motivate and keep employees.

When developing a rewards system, create perks that can be distributed company-wide and others that may single out specific individuals who have done a great job. Here are some ideas:

1. organise a meal at a local restaurant to employees who put in extra hours to complete urgent projects.

2. offer a movie voucher or book token as a small gesture of appreciation for those who give excellent service to customers.

3. give an extra half or full day off to show appreciation for exceptional workers. However, this should be exercised with caution, as it is likely to lose impact over time and also place a heavier burden on the remaining staff.

4. never underestimate the power of good old-fashioned cash. The most familiar reward method - bonuses - is proven motivators and is always appreciated by employees.

5. if a customer calls or writes to praise an employee, announce it at your next staff meeting and congratulate the employee personally where possible.

6. if you are the owner or manager of a small company, recognise good work by personally distributing payslips each period. Add a word of thanks and encourage more of the same good work.

7. ideally, aim to link bonuses to net yearly profits to ensure all employees work towards common company goals - profit related pay. A “no upper limit” scheme will invariably prove to be a strong motivational factor for all concerned - a highly profitable year will mean that bumper bonuses will be paid, but these will always remain in line with overall company performance.

While these smaller rewards and gestures are a relatively light financial outlay, they can be just as motivating as big expensive programs, if handled correctly.

Creative rewards will pay off with loyal employees who will continue to work hard to make the company increasingly successful. When you care about your employees, they will care about the company.