Did you know nearly 50% of companies cite employee retention as the number one HR challenge they face? I didn’t. I received an email from Home Depot a few months back saying that. The email talks about different ways companies incentivise employees to increase retention. I honestly would never have guessed that would be the biggest problem HR faces because it's not a problem where I work at all. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to work at Solar Art because it's such a great environment to be in. Our CEO came up with a program called “Perks and Benefits” which is essentially different incentives and perks for employees to enjoy. One of Solar Art’s biggest company values is work life balance. While a lot of companies preach that, ours actually does value it and does implement it. Read on to learn more about our employee incentives as well as other incentives you can incorporate in your business to help increase employee retention!
The first employee incentive Solar Art offers is called, “Family and Friends Day.” Each year every employee gets a certain amount of money to participate in this day. Employees get one paid day off in addition to their regular vacation days to spend a special day with friends or family. Employees are encouraged to have the entire family present and really spend quality time together. In order for this employee incentive to be valid, the employee must take pictures or videos and share with the rest of the company when they return, as well as submit any receipts of the desired activities. This is a fun way to talk about the day with the whole company. I think having this incentive available for employees is so great. Work can get really overwhelming and sometimes you just need a break. This employee incentive gives us that break. It gives us a chance to spend time with our family and friends and take a break from work.
The next employee incentive Solar Art offers is called, “People Helping People.” Each year every employee will get one paid day to contribute their time to help someone out. This can be a friend, a family member, a local charity, a retirement home, a hospital or anything else they are passionate about. The Solar Art office will provide resources as well as assist with the worthwhile cause. Just like the family and friends day, employees must take a photo or video and share with the rest of the company when they return from volunteering!
This past year Solar Art decided to volunteer as a company, which was such a cool experience! We all went to Kids Around the World in Irvine, California. We helped Kids Around the World package food that is sent and distributed to hungry children throughout the world. We worked as a team to get the job done and it was so rewarding. Not only were we giving back to the community, but we were bonding as a team doing it.
Fitness, health & wellness is another employee incentive we are lucky to have here at Solar Art. Each year every employee will get a certain amount of money towards any fitness or health related activities. This money can go towards gym memberships, local softball teams, etc. Employees must submit a receipt of the desired activities for this incentive to be valid.
A lot of employees at Solar Art put this incentive towards their gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness. There is one located just down the street from our office and sometimes groups of people go together during lunch and play basketball together. This is a really cool incentive because we do work in an office setting and we are behind our computers for a big part of the day. This incentive gives employees a reason to get outside and be active. It’s also another way for employees to spend time and bond together outside the office.
This one might seem a little out there but in my opinion is one of the coolest employee incentives we have. I feel like it really shows our personalities and who we are as a company. The CEO of Solar Art loves to play ping pong. He has a ping pong table at his house and our conference room at our corporate office actually turns into one also! We started an annual company ping pong competition where we all get in teams and play in a company tournament. The CEO made it so any employee that beats him and is the first to win 3 games in ping pong will win a certain amount of money.
This is a fun way to bring a little competition to the office and have employees work together in teams. It is definitely one of my favorite days of the year, mainly because it brings the whole office together for a reason other than work.
The employee incentive called “we not me time” is where each year every employee gets a certain amount of money to be expensed in any activity done with another employee outside of work hours. Participants must submit a receipt of the desired activities.
For this incentive, employees will often go to happy hour together or even go get their nails done together after work. This year our marketing team all went to dinner together and then went to Dave and Busters after. This is another great way to bring employees together outside of the office and we had so much fun doing it.
Finally, the last employee incentive Solar Art offers is called the “above and beyond” incentive. Each year the corporate team nominates one employee in the company that exhibits an exemplary attitude and the Solar Art core values. The employee chosen will win a generous budget to travel somewhere and experience something new. They must take pictures or videos and share with the rest of the company when the return.
This year the Solar Art employee that was chosen for the above and beyond incentive was our Director of Operations. She exhibits the Solar Art core values on a daily basis and is a great role model for other employees in the company!
So there you have it! The six employee incentives Solar Art offers in our perks and benefits program. Retaining employees can sometimes be a really difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be. Solar Art really cares for its employees and wants the best for them, which is where these incentives came from. If you would like to learn more about our company’s incentive program or have any questions, speak with one of our representatives today!
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