Keeping your employees motivated and maintaining a positive workplace culture is crucial for any business to be successful. Your employees are the beating heart of your business so it’s crucial that you make them feel respected, valued and appreciated. When your employees are happy in the workplace, they will be more productive in their roles, ensuring that you stay on track towards your goals and remain ahead of the competition.
Smaller businesses or those operating on a more limited budget can often find it difficult to find the financial means to offer their employees workplace perks. When your capital is more limited, naturally, you will want to prioritize covering your day-to-day operating expenses and perceived luxuries like benefits can be put on the long finger. However, with a little imagination and creativity, there is a lot that you can do to demonstrate just how much you appreciate the hard work of your team. Even with a limited budget, you can offer your team a range of workplace perks that will help to keep them motivated, engaged and on track.
Let’s take a look at just a few ways that you can offer workplace benefits, regardless of the budget you have to work with.
A Well-Stocked Break Room
When your employees arrive at work in the morning, have a break during the day or are taking some time off to enjoy their lunch, it’s important they have an inviting, well-stocked break room to relax in. Dedicating a spare room or a space in your office where employees can take a break in peace or catch up with other team members will cost you nothing. It also doesn’t cost much to keep it stocked with fresh fruit, cereal bars and other healthy snacks to keep your team energized throughout the day. If you have a little bit more to spend, consider adding a microwave so employees can heat up their food or rent a coffee machine so your team have access to delicious high-quality coffee to stay focused throughout the day.
Flexible Working Hours
One of the main benefits most employees want is the ability to have flexible working hours. Everyone is leading busier lives nowadays and having a little more flexibility in their schedule can allow your employees to manage their responsibilities outside of the workplace with greater ease. Offering more flexible working hours will not cost your business anything. However, it’s important that you implement a system that allows you to keep track of the hours your team is working. Implementing a flexible work hours strategy requires you to trust your team to stay on top of their tasks, however, it’s also important that you have the means to monitor the hours they are putting in so there is some level of accountability.
Casual Fridays
If you work in an office where a more formal dress code is required, allowing your team to dress in their casual clothes once a week can be a great perk. The ‘Casual Friday’ approach has been around for decades and has always proven to be a big hit in the workplace. On the other hand, you might decide to rethink your workplace dress code altogether and offer the workplace perk of a casual dress code. The office wardrobe has become increasingly more relaxed in recent years and if your team doesn’t do a lot of client-facing work, perhaps they don’t need to be dressed so formally in the first place. Dressed in their regular day-to-day clothes, employees tend to feel much more relaxed in the workplace and are able to perform better as a result.
Guest Lectures
Hosting guest lectures or talks from industry experts, educational bodies and motivational speakers can be a great way to add a little more value to the workplace for your employees. Hosting a talk once a month allows your team to learn and expand their knowledge so they can become more efficient in their roles. Listening to others from outside the confines of the business can also help your team to gain some fresh perspective and find new sources of motivation and inspiration. While you can spend a lot of money hiring people to speak at your workplace, there is a lot that you can do with a low budget too. Reach out to your professional network, speak to family members, old colleagues and other people that you might know who would be willing to share their expertise for free or you can speak at their company in return.
Keep Your Employees Motivated and Happy In the Workplace
As every business owner knows, a happier team is a more productive team. Providing your team with some additional workplace benefits is a great way to show that you care and to keep them motivated and on track towards their goals. Following the tips outlined above, you can ensure that your team always feel appreciated and valued, even if you are working with a more limited budget.