A2X Consulting

There comes a point at which a small business begins to expand to the point that it loses that feeling of family and starts to take on the characteristics of a cold and uncaring corporation. It is generally at this point that a business must find perks to motivate employees. In a small company, everyone knows each other and the tight-knit community serves to keep the staff satisfied and on-track. But in a corporate atmosphere employees become nothing more than numbers, unappreciated and mostly unnoticed. This is why many companies find ways to offer perks that will keep people motivated to succeed. Here are just a few that some companies have seen fit to employ.

1. Health benefits. Most companies are already on the hook for this one, but if you happen to run a small enough business you may not have to provide for insurance benefits (yet). While this definitely counts as a major expense that could be enough to tank some small businesses, it can also help you to attract the employees needed to take your business to the next level and give you a competitive edge. Plus, anyone you hire will likely drop you like a bad habit the minute something better comes along if you don’t offer this basic perk.
2. Annual bonuses. A company’s success is based on the hard work of employees, so the financial gains should be shared through a system of yearly bonus payments. For a large company, this could mean awarding cash bonuses to any group that hits target numbers, or simply giving a little extra to everyone when the business hits overall sales goals. Either way, employees may work a little harder knowing that they have the power to help reach those goals and gain additional wages.
3. Raises and title changes. Promotion is essential to any organization that wishes to retain employees and motivate them to do their best. So rather than hiring outside the company for every position, make it a policy to give preferential treatment to those you already employ through training programs meant to help them reach their full potential, as well as first crack at open positions.
4. Awards. Sometimes it’s not about the money. The one thing that people tend to appreciate universally is recognition for their efforts, especially when they directly benefit the company. So even aside from bonuses and promotions based on merit, having an annual award ceremony to recognize those individuals and teams that have gone above and beyond to do something truly spectacular on behalf of the company will help to motivate employees to do their best and take pride in their work.
5. Company car. Most companies reserve this special perk for executives, and many don’t even have the funding to do that much. But it may not be beyond your means to provide rental cars or shuttle services for certain occasions, such as corporate travel or even company parties where alcohol is provided. Since employees will likely submit expense reports for extensive travel beyond their daily commute anyway, you probably won’t spend much more to cover rentals. And when it comes to corporate events it behooves you to provide safe rides, especially if you also happen to be offering alcohol at your shindig (for liability purposes, if nothing else). Some forward-thinking companies are even providing eco-friendly cars for employees to use for work purposes, or at least incentives to drive these green vehicles or enter a carpool.

Jamie Lewis is a contributing writer for eRentals, the best online car rental supplier with over 12,000 locations worldwide.