Your employees need to feel appreciated and valued. If they don’t, you can bet that they’re working for you for just as long as it takes to find a new position. Sometimes, all a person needs to feel valued is to be paid a good salary. In other cases, you need to offer a great workplace culture. Don’t assume that your budget is the be-all or end-all, either. You can show your appreciation and offer great value even if you don’t pay the highest salaries in your industry.
Thought, care, and the opportunity to grow are very important for many, so if you can’t pay top dollar, use these top tips instead:
Tips for Giving Your Employees Gifts
Gifts are a great, low-budget way to give your employees a little something as a thank you for their hard work, or even as a celebration. Not every gift, of course, is going to be well received. The best way to give better gifts as a manager or business owner is to understand preferences from the start. Create a simple questionnaire about what your employee values in terms of workplace culture, rewards, and even basic information like if they have any special diets or allergies you need to be aware of. This way, you can easily refer to this information in their file when organizing gifts.
Food is a great gift idea and is usually widely well-received (so long as the item in question is in line with any dietary requirements). Of all the types of food, chocolate is usually a top choice for all. You can organize corporate chocolate gifts for your employees that even have your branding on them. When ordering, simply get in touch with the artisan chocolatier to inform them of any special diets (vegan, for example) and allergies, like nuts. They can then take it from there and send off a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or even Christmas.
Tips for Helping Your Employees Grow
Career development is a crucial benefit you need to offer every employee. If you cannot offer them promotions or even raises, then offer them training and skill development. There are many workshops, short courses, and even books or reports that they can use to improve their knowledge and skill set. Sponsor them so that they can come back to you with more knowledge and training. In exchange for that sponsorship, you can even request that they create a report during office hours that outlines the key concepts they learned, so they can then share that information with the rest of their team.
Tips for Improving Workplace Culture
Great workplace culture is another benefit that will help make employees feel appreciated. When it comes to the culture, however, you need to think beyond the aesthetic of the workplace itself. While a great-looking office is a plus, things like Flextime and the option to work remotely to accommodate things like train strikes or even a sick child at home, are essential. Put value on the quality of work being done, rather than nit-pick about hours. If an employee can get all the work completed quickly and to a high standard, let them take that extra hour for a long lunch. Find the sweet spot for productivity that helps you maximize your investment without burning them out.