With every passing year, companies strive to maximise profits, beat previous annual net revenues, and increase overall productivity. Social and cultural developments leave hints of strategic investments which could provide a valuable insight to various perks which should be implemented in order to help achieve those goals.
Business News Daily reports that corporate giants such as a Google and Netflix have introduced unorthodox methods to not only increase employee satisfaction, but have also explored various avenues which increase employee creativity and efficacy.
So what are several perks which could reward your company in the long run? Here are seven underrated office perks companies should implement in 2017.
Company Sports teams
How can we improve communication, strengthen the bond between colleagues, AND give the company an opportunity to advertise their brand?
A weekly sports night at the bowling alley or a football field would provide employees with the opportunity to congregate with members of other departments. Additionally, managers could equip them with promotional products such as company sports kits, mugs, and bags to foster a sense of team spirit. John from accounting could take pride and appreciate the fact that that his team member Monte from the IT department is not only a wiz with computers, but also a prodigy in the bowling alley.
Subsidised Gym Memberships
Forbes suggests that there is empirical evidence to support the correlation between healthy employees and hard work. This could be a better fit for employees who are not looking to commit to a team but are just looking for the chance to stay healthy.
More importantly, healthier employees could be a great investment in the long run as it could reduce the costs of other corporate perks such as health insurance or onsite health care. The fewer the number of employees on medical leave, the more productive a company can be.
Onsite Medical Services
As briefly discussed above, Sensia asserts that the benefits of onsite health-care would not only be cost effective for the company in terms of the bills for various medical tests which could be conveniently provided by their own medical staff, but it would also give employees the opportunity to obtain treatment early, and during office hours if needed.
The argument against this is the potential for abuse by employees who use billable hours for appointments to address minor discomforts such as a headache or a slight backache. However, Sensia has quoted evidence which supports that onsite medical services have actually reduced the time lost by employees for medical appointments by 70%.
Longer Maternity and Paternity Leave
Using companies such as Facebook as an example, going above and beyond the legal requirement would add positive value to a company’s reputation. More importantly, this would act as a strong reassurance to employees that their priorities outside of work are recognised and valued. Business News Daily asserts that this rejuvenates an employee’s sense of purpose and acts as an incentive to be as productive as they can be.
Games room
While there are arguments which suggest that an overly decorated room filled with playground amenities, fussball machines, and ping pong tables could be counter productive, fastcodedesign suggests that it could impact the success of a company by helping employees feel young at heart.
Studies reveal that this young age mentality helps employees reach their personal job goals, which, in-turn positively impacts overall productivity. Aside from that, it could be the factor which improves the monotonous daily grind of paperwork and provide employees with an outlet to unwind.
Free Coffee and Food
Who does not appreciate a nice cup of coffee as a pick-me-up? Make employees feel at home with free coffee and the occasional free food catering to help them feel at home. Little perks like this can go a long way to helping employees power through a tedious workload.
Reimbursement for Education and Training
Rapid global developments make it important if not necessary for an employee to progressively seek further training in order keep their skill sets relevant. To that end, financial burdens should not stand in the way of progress. After all, it is in the best interest of a company that their employees are well equipped to meet the dynamic changes and needs of the economy.
The implementation of the seven underrated office perks listed above would play a major role in the success of a company. Make employees feel valued and give them the opportunity to increase productivity in the office today.
Image source: http://now.howstuffworks.com/2016/01/11/foosball-table-office-perks-employees-really-want
