Cash In on ‘Wear Jeans to Work’ Days and Other No-Cost Rewards
In these tough economic times, some employers find they cannot afford to give their employees much of a pay raise, if at all. Some people are calling this 'The Great Recession.'
As businesses prepare strategically for 2010, employers will want to keep this in mind: The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that it can cost up to a third of an employee’s annual salary to recruit and replace that employee. So it’s in an employer’s best interest to appreciate, reward, recognize, motivate and keep their experienced and talented employees.
In lieu of traditional salary percentage or hourly wage increases, what can cash-flow-pinched and credit-deprived business owners do?
‘Think Outside the Box’ for Pay-Raise Alternatives
So what can employers do to show their appreciation in cost-effective ways that can also boost employee morale?
While not every small-to-medium-sized business can adopt all the following ideas, many employers can mix and match to suit their situation.
- Allow ‘Wear Jeans to Work’ days. If such casual attire will not negatively affect productivity or cause customer-service operations to suffer, consider having voluntary ‘wear-jeans-to-work’ days. Many workplace polls reveal that some employees find that wearing jeans to work feels almost like a benefit. In fact, my company recently released some internal polling results. By an overwhelming majority, employees chose wearing jeans over a number of other reward-type options. Why? Many employees have a closet-full of jeans and they love wearing jeans. They value the cost-savings that wearing jeans to work provide. Jeans are durable, easy to care for and they are comfortable. Jeans can be worn year-around, and trips to the cleaners may be reduced. When employees can wear what is already stocked in their wardrobes, they will appreciate the extra funds (they normally spend on purchasing work garments) that can go for other necessities, or better yet that can go into a savings account.
- Review and implement alternative-working arrangements. Flexible and alternative scheduling programs can help employees save on gas, commuting and other work-related costs. Thanks to numerous technical advances, many businesses are implementing telecommuting, Web commuting and other flexible-scheduling programs. When two-parent working families run up commuting, parking and childcare expenses, they appreciate it when these costs can be offset through various alternative-scheduling programs. Not only that, if working-parent employees feel supported in these areas, they may be more inclined to remain committed and loyal employees.
- Encourage and reward brainstorming for cost-pressure-relief (CPR) ideas. Employers might be pleasantly surprised to learn how many ideas their employees have for saving on precious business resources right now. Bring back the old “suggestion box” and ask employees to share their ideas for cutting costs and increasing revenues. It’s important to also let employees know “what’s in it for them.” For instance, employees, whose CPR ideas are implemented, could earn “perks” such as prime parking places for a year, extra time off with pay, lunches with the CEO, etc.
- Give additional paid-time-off to employees. This is always a crowd-pleasing incentive. Before taking time off, ask employees to give reasonable notice and get supervisory approval. Also make sure employees understand it’s their responsibility to ensure that their duties are covered in their absences.
- Negotiate with local vendors, or vendors you do business with, to donate gift certificates. Some vendors will enthusiastically support your efforts. The gift certificates could be for goods or services. For example, a restaurant may participate by giving employees a “buy-one, get-one-free” meal coupon. Employees can enjoy a lunch for two at the price of one. This makes employees happy and also gives the merchant some free “word-of-mouth” advertising.
History shows that these “panic” times will not last forever. In the meantime, employers with limited financial resources can seize on opportunities to show employees that they value their contributions, productivity and loyalty. Studies show that employees who feel valued and appreciated are normally more productive.
Even in a down economy, leaders can innovatively manage and grow their business.
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