low-cost employee perks

The ABCs to Low Cost Employee Perks for Your Employee to Enjoy

Not everyone has the luxury of spending lavishly on employee perks. We’ve written a list of low cost employee perks that will help you to attract and retain talent, and create a happy team.

Other smaller companies would find enticing ways to attract and motivate employees with a wide range of perks designed to enhance individual effort. In some cases, some of these benefits would promote team building and employee engagement at the workplace.

Many smaller businesses are now providing low cost employee perks that are having some very positive results. We have listed a number of low cost employee perks for your employee to enjoy (and for your company to benefit from!)

[A]way from Office

Allowing your employee to work from home is one of the low cost employee perks that you can provide your employee. Let them have the option to work from home once a week, if you can.

[B]ring on the Celebration

You can celebrate special occasions; regardless if it was a personal achievement or when your employee has signed a new client on board. Even better, invite their partners as well so that your employee can share the great moment with their loved ones.

[C]ut Some Slack

Another low cost employee perk for your employees to enjoy is by rewarding those who walk or cycle to work by allowing them to arrive 10-minutes late and leave 10-minutes early. Just be flexible with the hours, if possible.

[D]iscounts

Another low cost employee perk for your employees to enjoy is to reward them with a company discount, such as 20% to 30% off your goods or services. These are special privileges that you can provide for your employees and their families.

[E]mployee Awards

Make it a special occasion to show gratitude to your employees. One of the easiest and most common ways that is being practiced in most companies is rewarding a star employee periodically. Get your employees to vote for the star employee each quarter and then that person is rewarded with a days vacation or a cash prize. This is a particularly substantial perk because it comes from their peers.

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Photo: Brad.K, Flickr

Photo: Brad.K, Flickr

[F]un Friday

Close the office earlier on a Friday and treat your employees to a company-wide event like bowling, karaoke or a simple gathering at the bar. If you are lost at the activities that you could do for a Fun Friday, you can get suggestions from your employees.

[G]reat Seminars

Invite professional speakers or a guru to speak for free (Most of them would do it for free as they would want to promote themselves). Have guest speakers to talk about varieties of topics such as investment planning or ways to relieve stress or even personal development.

[H]ealth Lifestyle

You can also source gym club membership discounts for your employees. For some gyms, if you assure them a certain number of members, you can usually get a group discount on membership. You might also want to pick up the cost of a portion of this lower rate, leaving a deep discount for employees who are interested in joining.

[I]nteresting Excursion

Take your employees out on an interesting excursion. It can be a short and simple walk to the park and have a picnic lunch or visit the latest exhibition at your local museum.

[J]okes and Laugh Out Loud

Everyone loves a good laugh. Laughing has a positive impact on our health by strengthening the immune system, reducing levels of stress and boosting productivity. So perhaps you and your team could head to a stand-up comedy one evening!

[K]ick Off and Get Outdoors

Take advantage of the nice weather months and schedule company events outside. Plan a company hike and picnic over the weekend.

[L]ike Working Hard, Love Playing Hard

Create healthy co-worker competition by integrating games into the office. Playful exercises build relationships, increase motivation and relieve stress.

[M]ovie session

A group movie outing or free movie passes can be an enjoyable perk for your employees. Catch the latest Star Wars film or you could also consider an outing to see a community theatre group.

[N]ew Employees

Yes – you have already started planning a company hike and picnic over the weekend. How about getting ideas from the newbie in the team to plan or even organise the next team or company event? This encourages the new employee to get to know the rest of the team members by finding out their likes and dislikes, as well as getting a feel of the dynamics of the team.

[O]n site massage

This would come in handy if you are from a large company. Try hiring an in-house masseuse once every six months for your employees. This can be a great way to reduce stress at your workplace. Do remember that when your employees stress levels are high, they are more likely to make mistakes. Spa sessions are a great way to bring down that stress level as well as something for your employee to look forward to.

[P]et Day

Have a day where employees are allowed to bring their pets to work. Do remember to find out if their pets are weird ones like an iguana, to avoid other pets eating each other for lunch.

Well, this may not be the best idea if your company is a restaurant or a children’s day care centre. However, it can be a fun morale booster for the right type of small business.

[Q]ueue for Free Car Wash

Make a list of employees who own a car and give each of them a turn for a free car wash each month.

[R]un Forest Run (or Walk it Out)

Encourage a healthy lifestyle by encouraging employees to take public transport or even cycle to work (if possible!). With all sorts of pedometers available in the market, get one for all of your employees and make it into a competition. The one with the most steps each month gets a gift voucher or a small hamper.

[S]hare the Holidays

Holidays are meant to bring family and friends closer together. So why not celebrate major holidays such as the Fourth of July, New Year’s party or Easter celebrations with your employees and their families, this can boost company unity among the workplace.

[T]hrough the Stomach

They say a way to a man’s heart is through the stomach. No – a way to anyone’s heart is through the stomach. So why not provide a simple continental breakfast for your employees once or twice a week. Provide breakfast food such bagels, muffins or croissants. This makes for a nice way to start the day.

employee perks

Photo: Susanne Nilsson, Flickr

[U]ltimate Bonus

How about taking the employee of the month out for a fantastic lunch date? Besides appreciating the employee for all that he has done for the company, get to know them on a personal level. This encourages the employee to work harder and be dedicated to the company.

[V]olunteer

How about celebrating the gift of giving by encouraging employees to take part in community or charitable activities that they are passionate about but do not have the time for. Provide them a few paid days each year in order for them to help and reach out to the community for a good cause.

[W]ork the Perks

Another low-cost employee perks that you could practice within your workplace is the passing of the baton or in this case, a trophy. After voting for the employee of the month, give them the trophy which they could show it off on their desk. Do not forget to include simple perks with the trophy such as parking bay for the month, grocery voucher or even a lunch date with the management team!

[X] Marks the Spot

Mark off one afternoon each month after lunch and have fun and games with your employees. Organise a board game afternoon to get the team together and even work as a team over a game of Cluedo, Monopoly or even Scrabble. You could even invest in getting a foosball table or a table tennis table.

employee perks

Photo: Phillip Taylor, Flick

[Y]oga Classes

Bringing in a yoga instructor twice a week to run an afternoon class is relatively inexpensive and will help relax your employees and lower stress levels. Or try out a session of ‘Zumba’ with your employees.

[Z]zzz

Sometimes, employees get lethargic after staring at their computer monitor for a long period. So why not provide a break room or a rest area where your employees get to have a short nap or even shut-eye.

In Summary

While there are plenty of other plenty low cost employee perks for your employee to enjoy, the main idea is to encourage a positive company culture as well as encourage employee engagement within the workplace, and not forgetting showing how much you appreciate your employees.

Hopefully, our ABC guide to low cost employee perks for your employees to enjoy comes in handy for you and your company. All the best!