We feel really passionate about the impact benefits and rewards have on a person’s decision-making process about where and who they work for, and it is something we talk to our clients about all the time. We feel that employers really need to start looking at this in a positive way to attract and retain good employees into their business.
We hope this blog helps you understand what you can do and why we feel it’s important to at least consider for your business.
Reward and benefits are not always about money?
Employees are valuable assets in your business, we believe that ‘employee that feel valued, add value to your business’.
Do you agree?
Why it is important to reward your employees……..
Kelly and I have worked within different business ourselves and had different experiences of the rewards and benefits available to us, and we can both categorically say those that gave the best benefits and rewards got the best out of us, why….. because we believe that the company, we worked for had our best interests at heart, and valued the contribution we made to the business.
We don’t believe it is rocket science, believe me we aren’t scholar students, but what we have experienced, has told us people respond to being treated well and rewarded for commitment they give to their company.
So why not do it?
‘We don’t have to, they get statutory!’
‘It will cost us more money’
These are both valid reason but let us break it down a bit further.
Yes, giving statutory sick, holiday, maternity etc are the guidelines, the bare minimum, but if you give the bare minimum and then you get the bare minimum out of your employee is that OK, are you happy with that, would you not want more? Does this not feel a little one sided that you want the most out your employees but are not prepared to give more?
It will cost me in sick pay?
This is typical response from employers and we really do get it but it doesn’t have to be that way, and this is for a couple of reason, firstly company sick pay does not have to be from day one, you could use a sliding scale, for example once an employee has been with you for five years they get two weeks sick pay, ten years they get four weeks, and at fifteen years they get six weeks etc.
If you have had someone working with you for five years and their absence has never been a problem, what makes you think it will change, do you really think they will suddenly be sick all the time – has their commitment and loyalty not been proven? Would you not want them to be supported if they needed it, would you not want to help ease the financial burden they may face?
Secondly, if you have a robust policy and process in Managing Absence then you would already see any potential issues with employees early on and they probably would have been managed out the business a long time before the five years kicks in, again minimising the risk of increased costs.
The same applies for holidays, by setting increases at 5, 10, 15 years do you not think it would have the same impact?
Alternatively, look at other options, to some people holidays are more important than money, not just employees with children, Kelly loves holidays, I call her Judith Charmers (perhaps I’m showing my age here) she works to enjoy her time away, as do many people, and those with children of school age also feel extra holidays are invaluable, even by my limited mathematical capabilities, 28 days holiday (incl. Bank Holidays) at work, against 13 weeks holiday from school, is a massive gap to fill, could you offer the opportunity to buy an additional 5/10 days holidays year, believe me I have children and when I worked this would have been invaluable, and an extra week in Italy for Kelly would be a huge selling point.
Holiday and Sickness are very tangible area to look at, but there are so many other areas to support your employees in a positive way that may not cost anything – allowing them to work from home occasionally, changing working patterns, allowing more flexible working arrangements, many people have worked differently the last 18 months, do you really need to go back to the ridged hours of before, have your employees carried your business through the pandemic, and have they have done it from home, does that not tell you something about how new ways of working can work, and their commitment to you to make it a success?
Some people are motivated by seeing the potential to grow within a business, can you offer additional training, are you utilising your training levy, if you pay it (we can discuss this with you if you are unsure of what this is). This gives scope to a whole range of training opportunities to employees.
Do you have an Employee Assistance Program in place that supports employees at work, providing different levels of cover in areas such an optician appointment, dental appointments, mental health support, financial support advice, these schemes can be part, or fully funded by you as an employer, depending on the cost implications to your business?
People generally like to feel they are trusted to do the right thing whilst at work, and that their employer genuinely cares about their welfare. By providing a level of autonomy over people at work, and provided attractive benefits this will bring out the best performance in people, and are these not the people you want engaged in your business?
Despite the pandemic there are lots of job opportunities out there for excellent candidates looking for the right company to work for, so, yes, there may be a slight increase in costs, on the areas I have talked about, but sometimes employers forget the cost to the business to recruit employees if someone leaves, including agency costs, advertising cost, time out of the business by line mangers/HR to interview, the training you invested in someone for them to leave, therefore the training cost for the new employee.
So surely to potentially improve retention, maintain loyalty, get a bit more out of people and be an employer of choice, is this not a cost as an employer you are prepared to make?
Please believe me, we understand there are business needs and demands from clients, suppliers and customers but without your employees you won’t be able to fulfil those needs, so maybe we can just encourage you to have a think about what you can do reward your employees on a day-to-day basis, one change could make all the difference, we truly believe you won’t be disappointed in the results.
We are passionate about businesses succeeding, and employees help you do that, so the question we always ask is ‘why wouldn’t you want to reward your staff’ and be a fantastic employer?
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