Ideas for Employee Benefits / Perks / Incentives / recognition.

dealman on 27/10/2019 - 23:33
Last edited 28/10/2019 - 06:29 by 1 other user

Would love to hear from anyone in I.T. / Consulting on what kinds of perks / benefits other than salary the company offers you ?

I'm thinking along the lines of

  1. Fruits in office
  2. Nuts Healthy snacks.
  3. I.T. Tech Gadget allowance
  4. Charity Donations.
  5. Recognition / Gold class Tickets / other forms of recognition.

What other things have you seen or done as a form of Employee recognition and rewards, we are a (Smallish <10 person ) startup. Looking for ideas on what you've seen other companies do to keep up employee morale and engagement.

Decent Salary is a given, What else can we do ? Obviously want to make sure the team love working with us.

Obviously being a ozbargainer, the more value for money the better.

Education & Work

Comments

  • kahn on 27/10/2019 - 23:39
    +9

    Business hammocks.

    • pistachio1 on 27/10/2019 - 23:52
      +5

      You can get them all from the same complex. It's the hammock complex on third.

  • Hybroid on 27/10/2019 - 23:39
    +11

    If you're a small startup company, the most important thing beyond frivolous extras is making sure they believe in the company, it's leadership and the product/service being offered.

    After that, I'd say flexible working is a key perk.

    • dealman on 29/10/2019 - 11:41

      We have flexible working and work from home as an option.

    • Vote for Pedro on 02/11/2019 - 18:00

      I should have read this before posting exactly the same thing just now.

  • Stewardo on 27/10/2019 - 23:40
    +4

    I’m not sure how much traction you will get with 1-4
    “Here is some fruit and nuts I’ve donated money to the human fund in your name” hope your enjoying working here.
    The place seems like a drag already.

  • Baa on 27/10/2019 - 23:53
    +5

    I work for a large tech company as a consultant. They have all sorts from arcade machines, proper barista working in some of the offices, free fruit and soft drinks, various discounts for services etc.

    Maybe this would excite a younger generation however for me the flexible working arrangement and monthly commission are really the only things that matter to me.

    If we get two performance reviews (6 monthly) at the top rating we also get $1k to spend on personal development.

    • dealman on 29/10/2019 - 11:42

      If we get two performance reviews (6 monthly) at the top rating we also get $1k to spend on personal development.

      That's a great idea, Thanks

      • Vote for Pedro on 02/11/2019 - 18:01

        Personal development should be part of your business model imo, not an added incentive

  • Clear on 28/10/2019 - 00:21
    +1

    Call us old fashioned but beer is provided. All our offices nationwide have it on tap now. Seriously makes a Friday afternoon a lot more fun as long as no one gets drunk of course.

    For something a lot more 'acceptable', morning teas are provided once a week. Can be a simple box of sausage rolls, or a whole subway platter.

  • trustnoone on 28/10/2019 - 01:04

    Milo, and a little basketball hoop thing kind of like in arcades but portable.

    I think other good ones are having vendors come in, they usually give away some dumb free stuff (stickers, little plushie, memo pad etc) to be honest it doesn't really matter what, its more just a little fun and good to grow skills a bit and see what companies are out there and what they do.

    I know some places have a coffee person, I know it sounds expensive but if you imagine paying someone $50k a year, compared to savings you might have on the floor on $120k waged people spending an hour a day making coffee you might actually not be so bad if you're a bigger company.

    Honestly, biggest reason I typically see someone leave is they don't feel like they're growing, I'd say that seemed more important then almost most of the other stuff, particularly in the IT field where things change regularly. If you told me you had a scheme where an employee can do whatever they want for Friday afternoon every week to grow their skills (work on personal projects, or a project that might help the company or learn a skill) I'd love it more then the wage.

  • Sergeant Salami on 28/10/2019 - 01:26

    In my previous role we were provided with healthy breakfasts with fruit, cereal, milk, bread. This was heaps better than being provided with unhealthy buiscuits.

    Here are a few I've come accross in my career so far:

    • Maybe try and work with JB HIFI and see if you can get discounts via their commercial store for employees.
    • Give away old tech that has been decomissioned by clients or your business to staff.
    • Beer in the fridge for Friday nights. After work get everyone together for Friday Night drinks and a couple of snacks.
    • Lunch and learns. Give your staff a free feed for their lunch break while you have sessions on whatever topics people might be of interest. Give each staff a turn or chance to run a session to upskill staff and get a free feed while they are at it. It also gives them a chance to showcase their skills or passions. Every IT Geek loves pizza and burgers!
    • Awards for outstanding work like movie vouchers, netflix/stan gift cards, etc.
    • Setup a retropie machine for staff to play
    • Ping pong table
    • Pinball machine
    • Games console for lunch breaks
    • Work outside with your laptop rather than inside - promotes a modern workplace!
    • Stand up desks

    All of them are awesome incentives in my opinion and I have seen have a positive influence on staff. BTW what is your company called? Asking for a friend ;)

  • Donaldhump on 28/10/2019 - 04:44
    +1

    Work from home / flexibility

    I wouldn’t consider office fruit and nuts a big deal, everyone can afford apples and bananas if they love eating that stuff.

  • apsilon on 28/10/2019 - 06:09
    +2

    Having been in IT for a few decades, IMO the most important perks are:

    • Flexible working arrangements, hours and from home or other locations
    • Good coffee in the office
    • Competent management
    • Have a system in place where staff can continue to develop their skills

    Other things like games, rewards etc are nice but they don't really matter. You're going to forget what you movie you saw with those gold class tickets pretty quick compared to being able to start or finish early to pick up the kids or work remotely when you need to be away providing care for someone or the time a manager genuinely listened to an idea and made it happen etc.

  • GangGang on 28/10/2019 - 07:02
    +1

    Good coffee machine.

  • myusername on 28/10/2019 - 08:34

    seems like management have seen that 'pizza party meme' and are now looking for a new alternative approach.

    instead of all the above which honestly should be a basic given in any office environment.

    maybe look at better work life balance for employees

    i work in IT and do 4 days on 4 days off. 12 hour shift.

    but the work life balance is where it's at.

  • 87percent on 28/10/2019 - 08:42

    We used to do the fruit/snacks/coffee machine, but people don’t eat the fruit, and the machine kept breaking because while people can code, they can’t understand how to press buttons on a coffee machine

  • GG57 on 28/10/2019 - 08:47
    +1

    From the earlier comments posted here, flexible working arrangements is a strongly recurring item. Have you considered structuring the business around a 9-day fortnight, or even a 4-day week?
    You could consider the whole office closed for a specific day, or rotate staff through a day off; depends on the current projects.

    As others have said, fruit / lunch / beers etc. are all good, but they are certainly not ground breaking.

    • dealman on 01/11/2019 - 07:16

      Already do flexible time, 9 day fortnight is a crazy good idea, I can see how it woudl be useful.

      In our scale we don't have doubleups yet for every role but something to consider.

      Thanks for the idea.

  • Seraphin7 on 28/10/2019 - 09:52
    +1

    Cash always works well.

    I would suggest the best thing you could do would be to show genuine appreciation to people for the work they've done. It doesn't need to be OTT, but simply recognising what people have done goes a long way.

    All the other stuff … fruit, nuts, charities, etc. don't give you that much ultimately.

  • Bid Sniper on 28/10/2019 - 10:03

    Money and time off, only things of value really

  • [Deactivated] on 28/10/2019 - 11:20

    Mine has table tennis, on site gym, pantry items stocked like tuna, mini bar

  • Bargain80 on 28/10/2019 - 11:48

    how about a summer camp with 'WeWork' style.

  • Banana on 28/10/2019 - 13:32
    +1

    Flexible working arrangement + allowance for personal development.

  • nomoneynoproblems on 28/10/2019 - 13:49
    +1

    IT startup starter pack consist of:
    free drinks fridge
    free food every friday
    Hackathons
    Ping pong table
    Barista quality coffee machine
    Unlimited leave you're never allowed to take but always promised you will…"soon".
    Flexible working arrangements that really aren't that flexible because it's a startup.
    Casual clothes

    Did I miss anything?

  • SlavOz on 30/10/2019 - 18:57
    +1

    Fruit and nuts won't make people fall in love with the company but it will make them healthier, happier, and maybe just that little bit more engaged at 3.30pm. Avoid giving out shitty junk food that makes people crash.

    The same goes for having a semi-modern, somewhat stylish office and kitchen. Put some effort into making sure it's a welcoming and friendly ambience. Ie plenty of natural light, clean amenities, more than 1 fridge if needed etc. The little things add up.

    My last workplace (medium family business) gave everyone in the office (about 30 people) a $100 Woolwroths gift card every month if the monthly sales targets were met. It was great. I used to factor it into my budget and always made sure I did my part to reach the goal. An extra $100 a month in free groceries or fuel makes a big difference, especially when everyone knows they'll get it as opposed to just 1 person (ie employee of the month)

  • Vote for Pedro on 02/11/2019 - 17:59

    A good ‘why we do what we do’. People love to work at places where they share the vision.

    A bit of workplace flexibility helps as well.

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