What are the Best Incentives to Boost Employee Retention?

Posted on September 12, 2022

By White Water Consulting

Recruiting and retaining top talents can be challenging, especially when you’re a smaller company competing with enterprise-level competitors. Keeping up with all of the latest salary and benefits trends can be cost-prohibitive, but thankfully, there are a number of creative ways to incentivize your employees.

Consider just a few of the ways in which you can establish your company as a viable and attractive employer with generous perks.

Creative Incentives That Won’t Break the Budget

Flexibility

Your employees are all struggling to balance their professional obligations with family responsibilities, hobbies, and other passions. As such, offering even a little scheduling flexibility can go a long way. One option that many companies have found success with is “Flex Friday” offerings: Either let employees have half-days every Friday or give them alternating Fridays off. Even a more modest version of this plan (for instance, shortening each Friday by a couple of hours) can be meaningful.

Food and Fitness

There are also plenty of opportunities to provide “lifestyle” benefits. For example, we’ve heard many companies have had success offering DoorDash and GrubHub credits to their employees, allowing them to order lunch a time or two each week and not have to worry about packing something from home. Credits or reimbursements from local gyms can also be a great way to show employees that you care about them as people, not just as workers.

Autonomy

Nobody likes to feel like they are being micromanaged, or like their boss is constantly breathing down their neck. As such, offering your employees a genuine sense of autonomy can be incredibly enticing. Consider flexible schedules (see above), remote work opportunities, and, for smaller companies, unlimited PTO. These are fairly low-cost benefits that mean a lot to employees.

Pet Perks

One way to show your employees that you care about them is to show that you care about their pets. Providing opportunities to bring animals to the workplace, or offering credits toward doggie daycare facilities, can be incredibly attractive to your employees.

Mental Health Days

Ever since the start of the pandemic, there has been a lot of discussion about mental health benefits in the workplace. A relatively easy way to show employees that their mental health matters is to offer some time. Consider monthly or quarterly mental health days, encouraging employees to unplug and clear their heads a bit. Or offer regular half-day sessions where employees can step away from their desks for some yoga or some outdoor recreation.

Financial Education

Historically, retirement benefits have been a popular option. Simply offering a 401(k) match is not enough to lock in key employees, however. We also recommend bringing in counselors who can talk with your employees about financial health, educating them about the best ways to save for retirement or to achieve their other financial goals.

Think Beyond Standard Benefits

Even smaller companies can offer benefits and incentives that employees find to be enticing. With any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to WhiteWater Consulting today.