Employee appreciation: Unique perks and practices in retention

Photo courtesy of flickr

Photo courtesy of flickr

When it comes to employee retention and satisfaction, showing your team you care is possibly the best way to build a better company culture. Employee appreciation my take some time and creativity, but it’s worth the effort if you can hire and retain the best employees to help you build a better business.

Here are 12 practices and perks that could help you in improving employee retention and show appreciation for your team members:

Work-Life Balance

  • Power breaks
    Studies have shown that frequent short breaks of 17-20 minutes can provide a more refreshing break and lasting energy that provides a more productive workday. Some companies even make a space for power naps or quiet relaxation space to provide these boosts.
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  • Telecommuting days
    Allowing work-from-home time can be incentivized by reaching productivity goals. These kind of workdays rewards initiative and self-starter work habits – something necessary for someone working remotely.
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  • Entertainment Rewards
    Subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Hulu Plus can be a creative perk and provides opportunity to create some conversation around the proverbial water cooler as a tactic for team-building.

 
Health

  • Monthly treatments
    Setting up coverage for monthly massages or chiropractic appointments make for a healthier team and can be a perk above and beyond what most employers offer.
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  • Exercise memberships
    Additionally, a monthly gym membership or subscription to Daily Burn can be a great incentive or reward. There is also an opportunity for team building with this type of perk.
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  • Healthy snack options
    Having a breakfast bar with healthy options or healthy vending machines can be a big bonus and send your team a positive message. It could also provide them with the motivation to bring in their own healthy snacks rather than the sugar coated and loaded alternatives.

 
Peace of mind

  • Housecleaning or yard services
    This is a perk that can be earned with productivity benchmarks. Offering periodic landscaping or house detailing is a great perk to offer that enables a little more peace of mind and brings balance to your staff.
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  • Concierge service
    Having a help desk like this is a great perk and I’ve talked with some employees who say this service makes all the difference. This service can research and secure travel, make appointments and reservations, as well as schedule deliveries.
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  • Stay interviews
    Hiring takes a lot of time and effort, so if you’re able to hire the right people, it’s important that you do your best to ensure your staff won’t quit. One way to do this is with something called a ‘Stay Interview’, an opportunity to give each employee a voice and allow you to practice your listening – both keys in keeping your best and most valuable hires.

Powering up

  • Pick-your-own-benefits packages
    Sometimes offering a choice of benefits can be quite attractive and save your company money. Not everyone is alike in household size or habits, so being able to pick from groupings to create and design a benefits package can be real bonus.
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  • Training up future leaders course
    A lot of companies talk about promoting from within. Fewer companies talk about training future leaders. By creating a course that trains up future leaders of your company speaks volumes of how valuable your staff and their futures (as well as your company’s future) is to you.
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  • Give attribution always
    A thank you goes a long way. So too, does credit given when and where its earned. By making your employees look good, they will in turn want to reciprocate and make you look good.

 
These perks and practices are just some ideas on how to show employee appreciation, which can be attractive in hiring and retaining quality people.

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