How many of your employees enjoy going to work? Many employers have a high turnover rate for one reason: their employees don’t feel motivated to be there. Some companies cut corners and lose employees, which costs more in the long run. For some businesses, they can’t afford to regularly afford incentives.
Unfortunately, feeling underappreciated at work is an easy way for a good employee to seek work elsewhere. If you’re a small business looking to create an incentive program but you have a tight budget, here’s a list of cost-effective options worth trying.
Honor shift exchanges.
Life happens, even for the most dedicated employees. Whether they fall ill, have a wedding to attend, or have an unexpected death in the family, do your best to honor shift exchanges. Even if you have to come in every once in a while in order for your employees to take care of important personal matters, they’re more likely to be loyal to their jobs.
Have healthy competitions.
Sometimes, a little friendly competition is fun. One of the most popular work competitions is employee of the month. The prizes don’t have to be super expensive. You can offer gas cards, a free meal at their favorite restaurant, or get feedback on what each employee likes and award them when they win the competition.
After a long day in the office, consider setting up a competition as a fun way to show gratitude to your employees. On slower days, sales competitions for a prize are beneficial for both you and employees.
Collaborate with other companies.
If you’re in a neighborhood with multiple small businesses, consider collaborating with them. For instance, if you’re an advertising company and you want to work with a restaurant, you can do some promotion in exchange for an employee discount. Your employees will be more likely to visit this restaurant because they have a discount and the restaurant will gain customers.
This is also a great employee of the month reward. Every month, you can collaborate with a small business to incentivize your employees and drum up some free promotion.
It doesn’t take much effort to show someone you care. If you want to keep your employees happy and working for you for a long time, try some of these cost-effective rewards to reduce your worker turnover rate.