23 Creative Ideas to Boost Employee Retention at a Low Cost

The most expensive thing you can do is to lose your valuable employees. 88% of employees agree it’s important that employers reward employees for great work. Therefore, incentives are a powerful employee engagement tool to retain your top talent. Your employees deserve an employee incentive program that reminds them that you are thankful for them. The good news is that showing appreciation doesn’t have to cost a lot of time or money.

In this article, we will show you how to reward your employees and stay within our budget. Here are 23 employee incentive ideas for small businesses you can start using today.

1. Music

Everyone loves good music! Have you ever heard employees wish they could listen to their own music or listen to music at all? Let people play their favorite music for the day or let them throw on some headphones when it’s appropriate to do so.

2. Thank You Note From CEO

Take the time to make sure your leaders know about the great work your team members are doing. Ask them to write a thank you note with a gift card to their favorite restaurant.

Take a step further and send a thank you letter to the top performer employee’s family and let them know how valuable they are.

3. Longer Lunch Time or Extra Break

Let someone have an extra-long lunchtime or let them leave the office for lunch. For example, you can occasionally suggest employees go to a favorite place to eat that isn’t too far but is usually not close enough to make it during the lunch hour.

Employees will appreciate it when they get to that spicy chicken sandwich or cookies & cream milkshake.

4. Allow Pets to Work

This incentive doesn’t cost you a penny. Schedule one day every week for your employees to bring their pets to work. Allowing pets in the office can help reduce stress and make people friendlier. Work/life balance is valuable for employees and being able to bring one’s dog or cat to work can help employees feel they are closer to achieving that balance.

5. Flexible Time

Let your employees create a flexible work schedule, whether it be the hours they work when they work, or where they work. It allows employees to work when they accomplish most, feel freshest, and enjoy working.

6. Work Happy Hour

After a project well done, a work happy hour maybe just the reward your employees are looking for. Here are some ideas: Order snacks and beverages from a local restaurant, play a game, or gather in a garden and tell something interés about yourself.

7. Fully-Stocked Kitchen

Keeping a fully-stocked kitchen can help your employees feel valued. Here is a list of kitchen must-haves: 

• Coffee 
• Tea 
• Creamer 
• Snacks
• Fruits 
• Water

8. Concert or Event Tickets

Everybody loves a good concert. If there’s an event coming to your area that you think your team would enjoy, get tickets and attend as a group.

9. Update Equipment and Tools

Get them the best equipment you can afford so their job is easier and more comfortable to do. Get your employee an improved desk and laptop. Ask them if they need an upgrade, or if they hear of equipment or technology that would make their job easier.

10. Throw a Party

Throw a pizza party or cake party. You could celebrate an employee achievement, a work event, a holiday, a birthday, or find something everyone can be excited about.

11. Books

Find out what kinds of books and other educational resources might be valuable to your team—and don’t forget about leadership, productivity, personal growth, communications management, and interpersonal help books!

12. Plant Life

Give your employees a succulent bowl or plant a tree that they can take care of and be proud to have.

13. Company Outing

A company-wide outing is a great way to reward hitting team goals. It can be anything from a campfire to a hill station trip on weekend.  An offsite is a great reward that also promotes team building and helps strengthen your company culture.

14. Cleaning Services

Offer up some outside cleaning help. Purchase a car wash or maid service for the day if your employees are spending more time at work than they are at home.

15. Time Off to Volunteer

Volunteering can be a life-changing experience and a great chance for employees to build new skills. Giving time off to volunteer is a great way to benefit your employees and your community. 

It can be a team activity or allow individuals to take a day off to volunteer when it’s convenient for them.

16. Netflix Subscription

This is a simple reward that almost every employee loves. Load up 50 dollars on a Netflix gift card and feed their binge-watching habit for a few months.

17. Cooking Lessons

Learning something new with your team members! Most people try to cook, and most people fail. Incentivize your employee or small team with cooking lessons one day after work. It would be a fun and yummy time.

18. Meal Delivery for a Week

Take away the burden of cooking for a week. Bring in vendors to offer meals that are ready to take home or pay for a week’s/month’s subscription for a meal delivery service like Freshly. If they want to go the extra mile and cook it themselves, try a meal-delivery service like Hello Fresh.

19. Do Their Laundry

Set them up with a laundry service that will pick up/drop off their laundry at their home. This incentive gives your employees more than just clean laundry – it helps restore some work-life balance to their lives.

20. Offer Free Meals

Little perks like free lunch really make a big difference in how they feel about their company. People love to work for a company that treats its employees well. Free lunches are a safe hint that the company is doing something right to keep employee relations thriving.

21. VIP Parking Spot for a Week

Recognize an outstanding performer with a dedicated parking space for a week. You can even decorate the parking spot so everyone knows who the winner is.

22. Invite Employees’ Families to Company Celebrations

Dedicate a family day and a unique event to them where you can make them feel special and give them a memorable experience. The employees love it. The most interesting part is that their families are more excited about this day than the employees are!

23. Ask Them What They’d Like

Ask your employees what they think is a great incentive! This could be something free or relatively cheap; your best bet is just to ask them what they want. You’ll get it right every time.

Do you have any low-cost employee incentive ideas that I’ve missed? 

Previously published at https://www.springworks.in/blog/employee-incentives-ideas/