Far too many times, employers feel the need to scrimp on employee compensation, thinking this method will grow their business savings more. But, in a long list of things that employers do that are annoying to the employees, not paying them enough is on the very top of the list. Think long and hard about what you might be doing. Your employees are spending more than eight hours of their days in the office making sure your business runs smoothly. Yet, you pay them the minimum wage. You also don’t provide overtime and hazard pay. You are very near to breaking the labor laws.
So why are you surprised that your employees care less about the business? Why are you surprised that they aren’t happy and are looking for greener pastures? The equation works like this: compensate them well and you will make them happy. If they are happy, they will most likely want to stay with you, work for you, and help the business grow.
How can you compensate them well without spending too much? What can you afford? How will a well-compensated workforce affect and impact your business?
Non-cash Compensation
You know very well about cash compensation. You have to pay your employees their worth. If they are working overtime, pay them the right amount, too. For those who need to work until midnight, provide hazard pay. But how about the non-cash compensation that is equally important to your employees? What are these and how can you manage these more effectively?
Extras and Bonuses
One of the programs that you might want to try is employee referral tracking software. Whenever there’s a job vacancy in the organization, reach out to your present employees and ask them to refer someone they know. The moment the referral gets hired, add points under the referrer’s name. What can referrers do with these points? They can collect as many points as they every successful referral in exchange for more a gym membership, more paid vacation leaves, a trip out of town, grocery or restaurant gift certificates, and many more.
Flexible Working Hours
Another way you can provide compensation without spending even one dollar is to allow them to have flexible working hours. There are two ways to do this. One, you can let them work from their homes provided that they finish their work daily. And two, you can allow them to work in the office but let them leave the moment they finish their tasks for the day.
Employers are sometimes too strict with the hours. If your employees managed to finish their duties for the day in less than eight hours, then let them take the rest of the day off. As long as you find the job satisfactory, there’s no reason for them to lounge around the office. If you offer this kind of compensation, you will watch your employees become more efficient with their jobs.
Retirement, Insurance, and Stock Options
Many employees stay with a company because of the retirement benefits. Even if some companies pay them little, they decide to make ends meet for now and find other sources of income because of the promise of a better retirement. If this works for you, then go ahead and make the offer.
The same goes for insurance and stock options. Employees will stay with a company that can offer their families better health coverage. If you can offer stock options, that’s great, too. This means your employees will work extra hard to help your company grow. In exchange, they will get dividends from your business profits.
There are three basic reasons why you need to pay your workforce well. The first one is because it will boost their morale. The happier and more fulfilled they are about their jobs, the more that they will want to help you grow it.
The second one is because your company can attract top talent if you are known in the industry for compensating employees well. And the third one is because good compensation motivates employees to do their best. If you want to see them being proactive, you have to compensate them well for their efforts.
Compensation comes in various forms and sizes. For small businesses, you can think of inexpensive ways to show your employees that you appreciate what they are doing for the company. If you are profiting well and can provide more in terms of cash value, then scrunch the numbers and give your employees a fair increase in their salaries.
