Attracting and retaining the best people for the job has always been a challenge. These days, being offered the right company benefits is more important to employees than a little extra money.  To keep on top of hiring and keeping good staff, here are the top six employee perks that won’t break the bank.

Drinks

Drinks such as tea and coffee will help to keep your employees focused on the job they are doing.  This needs to be good quality though as some of the hot drinks you can get out of a vending machine are appalling.  People want instant coffee and do not want to waste time in the day making it.  Invest in a commercial-grade coffee machine that produces a product that tastes fantastic. This is great for companies that love coffee and your staff will love you for providing it.

Food

Everyone loves free food, and this is a great employee perk.  There are lots of ways you can provide this such as ordering pizza for a company lunch, providing a breakfast buffet, or taking your top performers out to dinner.  This can be made as cheap or expensive as you want it to be depending on where you get the food from.  You can use the time it takes to eat to lead some brainstorming ideas about how to move the company forward and whether any changes could be made.  That way your employees will feel they are being listened to as well as fed.

Peer Recognition Program

One of the biggest reasons people leave a company is that they feel undervalued.  A peer recognition program is a great way to address this. Ask employees to nominate people and give examples as to why they should be recognized and offer a reward such as a voucher to say thank you.  The recognition program could be run in conjunction with the free food so the rest of the company can see who is being recognized and offer praise too.

Casual Fridays

If you do not have a lot of corporate visitors to your company on a Friday, why not keep them casual?  It is almost the weekend after all.  Employees tend to enjoy this perk and find it a great motivator.  The plus point for you is that it doesn’t cost anything.

Time Off

People can get very demotivated if they are expected to put in a lot more than their contract hours but never receive anything in return for it.  Implement a more flexible schedule so that they can claim back any additional hours they have worked.  This will mean that they don’t feel as if they have lost this time and they can take time out to go to the dentist or see their kids in a school play without it coming out of their holiday allowance.

Corporate Gym Membership

A lot of the larger chain gyms offer corporate memberships.  This means that employees will get a discount for joining up because they work for your company.  The gym will often cover the cost of the reduction because it means they can attract new customers.  It is up to you whether you offer to fund a further reduction through the company.  This is a great perk, especially for those employees who like to work out because it makes doing so cheaper.  It may even attract employees who are starting a new fitness journey.  The healthier your staff are the less likely they are to take time off sick.

These are six great benefits you can offer your employees without busting the company budget.