Employee benefits for cash-strapped employers

While the top motivator for Kiwi employees may be a competitive salary package, there are other ways to motivate your staff to stay with you and do a good job.

BY Rose Sneyd 19 Jun 2013

The top motivator for employees in New Zealand has shifted from long-term job security to a competitive salary package, according to statistics from this year’s Randstad Award research. However, in the current economic climate, salary growth is sluggish suggesting that employers and hiring managers may need to be inventive when it comes to employee benefits.

With that in mind, here are 10 non-cash incentives (courtesy of Randstad):

Flexible work arrangements: give staff the opportunity to work from home once a week, or to work core hours that suit them best, not the traditional 9-5.
Provide learning and development opportunities: allow staff to complete accredited courses and increase their skill set both in and out of the office.
Offer tangible recognition: this could come in the form of an email, in which you cc business leaders with your congratulations on a piece of work, or a handwritten note, or a personal mention at a monthly meeting.
Provide a rostered day off: give your staff an extra day off, outside of annual leave, to thank them for a job well done.
Personalised rewards: offer individual members of staff rewards tailored to their interests, for example a gym membership or theatre tickets.
Time for other projects: allow staff time out of their normal work commitments to work on projects that interest them, but aren’t necessarily related to your core business. This idea was pioneered by Google.
Volunteer work: allow staff to volunteer some of their work time, allowing them a break from the office and a morale boost.
Temporary swap: if your business has multiple office locations, how about offering staff the chance to swap roles with someone in another location for a week or a month.