Let’s Chat… Creating Employee Satisfaction through Support and Incentives!

Welcome back to a blog that’ll ensure you wrap up your week with a smile! As we spoke about on Tuesday, the way that employees perceive company values and align with their mission should be at the top of every employer’s mind. Especially as it relates to younger generations, employees feel empowered to seek new opportunities for reasons based on fulfillment and job satisfaction more than any other working demographic. So, how can you keep up and ensure you meet your retention goals as a manager, executive board member, or overall organization?

Keep reading HERE to learn all about how employers can ‘treat’ and support their employees across any industry and for any role.

Creating Fulfillment and Job Satisfaction as an Employer:

  • Referral, End-of-Year, or Quarterly Bonuses: While the compensation-focused employee incentives are certainly the most obvious, they do not go unnoticed! Whether an impromptu quarterly bonus after a well-performing period, a scheduled merit increase on an annual basis (even of a few %!), or referral bonuses for word of mouth, all bonuses are regarded with gratitude and appreciation. Especially in our current economy, a few extra dollars per paycheck may amount to greater comfort in purchasing gas, groceries, or other necessities throughout the year.
  • Wellness Days: While your employee base always welcomes general PTO, additional incentives in the form of wellness days (typically on a quarterly basis) are a great way to stimulate motivation and gratitude. Some companies even provide stipends to employees aimed at their engagement with wellness (that are factored into compensation)! Whatever it looks like for your company, implementing this type of award showcases an employer’s belief in the value of mental wellness and commitment to ensuring it is met by their employees.
  • Office Amenities
    • Free Coffee and Breakfast Treats: An easy (and often expected) part of the day… is employers providing coffee! This is a great way of saying an informal thank you to your employees who may commute from all different types of neighborhoods or cities to get to your office. Not only is starting the day with a cup of coffee and a sweet treat a great way to increase positive sentiment in the office, but stimulates productivity too.
    • Casual Dress Day: If you have a strict dress policy in your office, think about ways to ‘offset’ the professional requirement, where possible, to allow employees to dress down and wear casual clothing every month, or maybe even more frequently (like on Fridays!).
    • Treat Everyone to Lunch or Dinner: Especially for employers in industries like Accounting, layered with busy seasons, saying thank you in the form of treating your employees to lunch or dinner not only offsets the commuting cost of getting to the office, but provides an unexpected treat as well. These small acts will likely not impact your overall budget or net profit, but go a long way in the form of showing employees you care about their office attendance and strive to incentivize their desire to continue coming in.
    • Gyms, Fitness Classes, Health-Related Discounts: Think of ways that you can afford your employees even MORE opportunities to come into work beyond the scope of their desks. Especially for employers renting out or moving into new spaces, think about aspects of the building’s amenities like a gym, fitness classes, generalized health discounts for online or in-person programs, etc.
    • Ergonomic Office Chairs: Finally, and sometimes the most important, is ensuring that your office is a COMFORTABLE space… physically! We encourage you to splurge on seating and other equipment that contributes to the ease of working in-person, technical efficiencies, and general comfort. Replacing old chairs, keeping up with modern themes, and announcing these investments is an easy way to both satisfy employee expectations while ‘tooting your own horn’ for continuously investing in top-of-the-line materials!
  • Consistent Recognition Programs: Do you announce employee achievements? Do you host quarterly or consistent meetings to spotlight those employees who went above and beyond? Make sure that your company has programs in place that recognize employees for positive performance, innovations, and contributions to the overall culture. Doing so will create fulfillment, celebrate achievement, and incentivize other employees to aspire to greatness!

Remember, Investing in Employees is an Investment in Yourself as an Overall Company or Individual Employer!

If you’re reading this and thinking about how it may apply to you… remember that investing in your employees is an investment in yourself! Not only will doing so lower your turnover and therefore the cost of retaining and training new employees, but will also increase company-wide motivation and productivity. Elevating your culture through in-office presence now requires additional investment by employers to create space employees WANT to come to each day… so use the above tools to begin evaluating how your office matches up to corporate expectations in 2024!

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