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Employee
Benefits
Brian's
Introduction
By
Brian Walsh (Founder & CEO of
Entrepreneur.co.za)
Employee benefits is an area often ignored by
entrepreneurs, but it should be said that if you
want your employees to stay and be loyal you
need to look after them. The irony is that we
often think it is just the salary that keeps
them there, but in truth it is the overall
package, especially the added benefits you
offer.
Helping an employee look after their family by
having a good medical insurance scheme is a
great way of showing you care, and want them
around for a long time. Let’s look at some of
the key employee benefits you can consider.
Medical Insurance
– in this crazy world we need to ensure that we
are protected against illness and accidents, and
as a father and husband I can’t tell you how
much more important it is to me to ensure my
medical aid is in place. Consider offering staff
an option of either hospital cover or full
comprehensive cover. Make sure you offer medical
aid for their whole immediate family, and not
just themselves. This will show your commitment
to them and ensure a longer relationship. Common
practice is for you to pay half on their behalf,
and if you have many staff members, you can
acquire good discounts. Sit with a medical
insurance consultant and find out what is best
for you and your company. It is advisable that
you are on the same medical insurance as your
staff - you don’t want to be seen as giving them
an inferior product.
Pension
– offering a good pension or savings scheme for
staff has some good benefits. However, with the
negative press of late you need to consult an
expert to ensure you take the right course. A
good way to go is a pension that the employee
can carry on using if you have to let them go or
if they leave. The key to encouraging staff to
stay is to pay a portion of the pension for
them.
Allowances
– offering allowances like cell phone or motor
vehicle allowances is also a great benefit to
employees. These must be relevant to the work
they do, but such allowances help employees a
lot and make them feel you have their best
interests at heart.
The advantages of the benefits I have mentioned
above are that some, if not all of these
benefits are tax deductible and save both you
and the employee in the long run. Read up on
them (we will publish some information shortly)
and implement them to your advantage.
Gratitude and reward
– the last benefit I want to share with you is
not tax deductible, but can have huge positive
morale-boosting consequences. Firstly and most
affordably, is praise and gratitude. I have
mentioned under ‘Motivating People’ the power of
praise. When people feel they are appreciated
they will be more loyal and will work harder.
Learn to praise your staff – show gratitude for
what they do, even if you think they could do
more. Give out certificates of achievement,
employee of the month awards etc.
Next, there is reward. I believe reward should
be team driven rather than individual driven -
teams should benefit from working together. Some
suggestions could include a night out on the
town perhaps at the company’s expense, or a nice
practical reward like cell phones, working tools
or other items that will actually also benefit
the company. Remember that giving money is never
as rewarding as giving some sort of prize.
Lastly, if you can afford it (or make it
affordable by their achievement) have a big,
juicy weekend away for the team and their
partners. This can be the ultimate achievement
reward for the whole team assuming they achieve
a particular goal.
Consider employee benefits as a tool to
increasing productivity and reducing staff
turnaround. Develop loyal dedicated staff, and
you will reap the rewards for a long time to
come.
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