As a business owner, your first and primary goal successful is business performance. Part of achieving this goal is creating a productive, innovative, and welcoming atmosphere for your employees. Employees want a pleasant place to work and security. Security is built on good pay, good benefits. In fact, studies show people are increasingly more interested in their work environment than money, position, or prestige.
Company culture begins with the basics: consistent values and their application to the day-to-day operations of the company. Your benefits plan also plays a role in company culture. Don't Believe The Hype, Stick With The Basics You might believe today's employees want the benefits that make the news. Everybody has heard the hype of the benefits plans in the tech world. If you believe the news, then all top companies are giving away free lunches, massages, beer, and other assorted extra benefits. While this may be the norm for larger companies in the tech industry, smaller companies simply can't afford these extravagances for their employees. That means the majority of companies and employees in the world are not receiving shoulder massages while they drink free beer. You still have a fighting chance to get top recruits, retain your best employees, and keep them motivated. Offer them the absolute best benefits plan you can afford. You can accomplish this by sticking with the basic components of a benefits package:
For example, offer a premium medical plan for everybody at the company. Offer free retirement planning and financial advice for everybody at the company. At the end of the year, credit employees unused sick time to their vacation time, or pay off the time in cash as a bonus. There is plenty you can do to sharpen your benefits plan and make it attractive to employees. Choose Your Benefits Like You Would Your Physical Assets A strong company culture should be approached like any other asset. Your first, and perhaps only, question, should be, "How does the company benefit?" Don't make the mistake of thinking your company culture is built up around benefits and perks. Your company culture must be developed for the overall good of the company. You want a culture that fosters innovation, customer care, and other outcomes that benefit both employee lives and company profit. Today it almost seems anachronistic to say "profit" when discussing company culture. But, let's face it, without profit, no company survive long enough to discuss culture. A culture that values employees creates employees who are loyal and motivated to support the values of the company. It's a symbiotic relationship, you can't have one without the other. Culture Insurance is an insurance broker and risk management company located in San Diego county. After partnering with our clients, we develop benefits packages that enhance employee engagement, and benefit their business culture. If you would like to know more about how we can help your business, please contact us for a consultation. |