How important are ‘small things’ to employees?

Employee satisfaction surveys are always an eye opener for any company - when HR manager Kaitlyn Annaert got the results back from hers, she found workers really valued the small things.

“The little things go a long way,” stresses Annaert, from her office in downtown Toronto. “Even when people are happy with pay and benefits, they want perks throughout the day.”

Annaert has been HR manager at Voices.com – an online marketplace that connects businesses with voiceover talent – since October 2014. She says the employee satisfaction survey was conducted to help her figure out what major challenges she’d be facing as she moved into the new role.

“We did it to see where we might be struggling,” explains Annaert. “When we had our survey results back, they stressed that the responses were great overall and the company is very stable and very happy but it turns out the little things do go a long way.”

Food for thought

“Even when people are happy with the basics they want something extra,” says Annaert – but it doesn’t have to be anything too big. Among some of the suggestions made by Annaert’s staff were catered lunches and occasional longer lunches.

Leadership expert Karl Staib agrees – he says catered lunches can be an easy way to boost employee morale and strengthen interpersonal relationships.

“Not only does it raise morale it also encourages employees to feel connected to other employees through meal time conversation that otherwise wouldn’t take place,” says Staib.

Not only that, but Stain says offering your employees free lunches could even improve the overall health of your workforce and cut costs in the long run.

“Healthy employees cost you less,” says Staib. “Whether it’s in less missed work days, better productivity, or lower costs for health insurance; everyone wins when employees stay healthy.”

While offering one free meal a day might not make a huge impact on your employees’ health – it’s definitely a good place to start.