Times are tight but it’s more important than ever for workers to feel wanted. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative, non-financial rewards small-business owners can grant their employees.
The pandemic has meant the vast majority of small-business owners have had to tighten their purse strings, with revenue slashed. For many, paying their team a bonus isn’t viable at the moment. However, employees have struggled, too – they have rolled with the punches to try to support the businesses for which they work, something for which they deserve recognition.
And, with the phenomenon of the Great Resignation taking hold, SME owners are desperate to hang on to their talent. Indeed, research carried out by financial services firm Findex late in 2021 revealed that staff retention has emerged as the top business concern for SMEs in the year ahead.
We spoke to a number of experts in leadership and human resources to find out how small-business owners can reward their team members and keep them onboard without having to imperil their beleaguered cashflow resources by paying bonuses.
Lyly Greca, co-founder and creative director of social enterprise Miei
I believe the goal of incentivising staff is to produce the positive emotions and validation we experience when we’re rewarded. Everyone wants to feel that their precious time spent at work is meaningful and valued, and that their efforts have a purpose.
What I like to call our reward perks – rather than a traditional incentive based solely on output or performance – are all offered to our entire team as a collective, rather than individually, as each team member is involved in some capacity in achieving each success.
Examples of these perks, which are funded completely by myself and my husband as co-founders, are team lunches to celebrate birthdays, a significant achievement, or a company or personal milestone – or to simply catch up and enjoy each other’s company. And we run a bi-annual, all-day surprise adventure with the objective of simply enjoying new experiences and promoting personal development. Such events have included a paint-and-sip activity with grazing platters at a winery, a team virtual-reality escape room experience and a Segway tour through the Yarra Valley.
Marie Temby, small-business coach and author of Simple Soulful Successful: A mumpreneur’s journey to daily happiness through business, balance and rituals
The cornerstone of incentivising and rewarding team members without monetary bonuses or pay rises is acknowledging their efforts. It is easy to walk into your business and notice the jobs they have not done, but how often do you walk in and notice the jobs they have? Staff like to know their efforts have not gone unnoticed. A simple ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’, or sending a group message to your team sharing the excellence an individual has achieved works wonders for their confidence.
People also thrive when they’re given more responsibility. Spend time training your team members – as well as helping them grow, it offers more variety – and give them the opportunity to train up for another role within your business that particularly interests them. Showing that you’re genuinely interested in their development will engender respect and loyalty.
Katriina Tahka, Founder and CEO of HR agency A-HA
There are various ways to demonstrate that you genuinely value the hard work and commitment of your employees that come at no, low or no-direct cost. Creative options include the boss baking something for each staff member: last year we saw the CEO dress up as Santa and walk through his building giving every employee a chocolate and a smile. Everyone loved it and they’re all waiting for this year’s visit. I also recommend bringing back the tradition of giving your staff an afternoon off to go and prepare for Christmas. Let’s face it, the closer we get, stress will rise and productivity will drop anyway, so you won’t be losing many productive work hours but you will gain staff engagement. And with summer upon us, plan a staff picnic with a few outdoor games. Even if people are asked to bring their own picnic food – it’s probably more COVID-safe anyway. They’ll love getting out of their work environment into the sunshine and having a few laughs.
Michelle Gibbings, change leadership and career expert, author and founder of Change Meridian
No one wants to be underpaid for their work, but pay and rewards aren’t the only motivators. Take the time to understand how your team members want to celebrate and recognise success, and focus on efforts that bond the team and make people feel appreciated. Gestures that make the most significant difference and have the most impact are sincere. A ‘thank you’ can go a long way – both individually and collectively. Consider workplace flexibility – not just the ability to work from home, but also to work compressed hours and have additional days off. And consider product and servicing discounts you could provide your employees – depending on your business’s relationship with its customers and suppliers, you may also be able to offer discounts on products and services provided by them.
Dr Amantha Imber, founder of a behavioural science consultancy and host of the How I Work podcast
At Inventium, we see time as the most valuable resource we can reward staff with, which is a big reason why we do the four-day week, and have been since July 2020. The team all get to take Friday off if they have achieved everything they needed to get done by Thursday afternoon. It’s incredibly motivating to work really productively and use time wisely to get the reward of Friday off. We call it the “Gift of the Fifth”.
Helen Baker, licensed Australian adviser and author of On Your Own Two Feet: steady steps to women’s financial independence
It comes down to the old adage, ‘teach a person to fish…’ Employees will look to their employer as their only source of funds and see pay rises and bonuses as their way of getting ahead. I suggest broadening their thinking. Here are three different engagement options to consider:
- Inhouse financial education – we know through studies and over a decade of presenting that offering this has helped employees and their families avoid potential mistakes and benefit from strategy and investment they learnt about in the sessions.
- Access to one-off consults inhouse – either in conjunction with the above, or on their own. Ensuring an employee doesn’t have to leave the office to seek advice saves time and helps them get personalised guidance.
- Gifting education – books are a great start; you can gift them individually or you can look at different articles/YouTube clips together and have team discussions about them.
This article first appeared in issue 35 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
