Worried about losing members of your hot shot team to larger employers? Are you concerned about your next in line being headhunted on LinkedIn? Opportunities are out there so how do small business owners compete with the large corporates when attracting and retaining their perfect team? Creativity is the key to recruiting the skills you require as benefits don’t need to be about money and bonuses. Support your employees in other ways and your team will remain happy and loyal with no reason to be tempted by the corporate world. Read on for some inspiration:
Recognition
Recognition and reward is important for staff morale and can be as valuable to individuals as a pay rise. Acknowledgement can be as simple as a celebration breakfast or lunch in the office or you could start an employee of the month award to recognise those that have gone the extra mile. A photo on the staff notice board or a piece on the website or in your newsletter can be a real incentive to hard working teams. Rewards for achieving sales targets can be cinema tickets, a lunch or dinner at a restaurant of their choice, either way, knowing that there is appreciation for the hard work being done will be enough to increase the loyalty of most staff.
Get social
Regular staff outings offer an ideal opportunity for managers to get to know their teams. Whether you arrange a quiz night at the local pub, go bowling or have a summer family day and annual Christmas party, these events help team spirit and improve morale as well as help managers understand how their employees tick. A night out with work colleagues can also be an excellent way for teams to bond and see each other as real people, not just work colleagues.
Flexible working
Flexibility is often very high on the list for employees as for most people, juggling family and work life can be stressful. Whether you have children, older parents or pets, flexitime can be extremely useful. A healthy work-life balance is essential and most employers recognise that if their staff are less stressed then they will be happier and healthier, working to their optimum and taking less time off sick. Seen as a high value benefit, flexitime also reflects well on the employer as someone who is understanding and one who values their staff.
Some businesses offer early closing on a Friday which is always a nice way for hard working teams to start the weekend and flexibility can mean other benefits like bringing your dog to work and allowing children to come into the office. Obviously this depends on the type business you do and the needs of the rest of the organisation would have to be considered as you couldn't welcome dogs into the office if members of staff had allergies or a fear of dogs.
Flexible working can also mean extended lunchbreaks. Studies have shown that taking a break, especially in the fresh air, from the screen and workload can help clear the mind and result in a more productive and creative afternoon. We can be inclined to eat at our desks and ignore lunchbreaks however, flexitime allows individuals to be more active. The opportunity for taking longer lunches, if business allows, means increased opportunities for a lunchtime jog, swim or yoga class. People work well at differing times of the day and expecting that we all fit in to the 9-5pm norm and work productively within that, is an unrealistic proposition. Organisations that manage flexible operation times can see their productivity levels rise with employees working to their optimum at times when they are at their most creative and productive.
