We enter into a few Best Employer/Best Culture awards every year. One of the advantages of doing this is that we get feedback on what our employees love about working at Nurse Next Door, and what areas could be improved about working at Nurse Next Door.

Like so many growing companies, one big area of opportunity for us, is the area of benefits. Truthfully, we have a pretty weak benefits offering to our incredible employees.  So, as part of our 180 day plan to move our culture forward (we work in 180 day increments to achieve this), we are working on a new benefits package.

Part of this plan includes looking at creative perks that work vs expensive perks (like dental coverage).  When it comes to perks and benefits (which can become fairly cost prohibitive pretty quickly) I take a similar view as I do when I look at marketing – I know that I cant outspend the big companies, so I better use my creativity to out think the big companies.

So I have started to compile a list of easy perks that work that I like.  Here are some of those so far:

Work from home days. While it may not work in every setting, what a great way for your employees to skip the daily commute, spend some time around their families and get some work done, or just work in peace from their own home while sitting in their pajamas.

Reward those who make life easier for employees. Once a year, give your employees the opportunity to say, ‘Can you send a recognition award to my mother-in-law, who takes care of my kids after school?’ “Along with the recognition, send  a gift card from a business of the employee’s choosing.

Surf’s up.  My favorite perk, although not really applicable to most of us, is Patagonia’s surfs up perk.  Daily surf reports are posted at the reception desk , and when the waves are good, employees can tackle a surf break.

Family days.With educational budget cuts, it is incredible how many days off my kids get from school now. Wouldn’t it be great if we could allow employees to take a “family day off” without having to use up a vacation day?

Yoga classes. Yoga is the big thing in Vancouver these days, and companies are starting to bring in a yoga instructor to run an afternoon class on a  weekly basis.

Beryl Cares.  The Beryl Group of Companies has a program called Beryl Cares. This program is dedicated to providing emergency financial help, including purchasing school clothes for coworkers’ children, helping with unexpected bills and providing emotional support to colleagues who are going through a rough period in life.

Volunteer days. At Nurse Next Door, we used to give our employees a few paid days each year to take part in community or charitable activities that they’re passionate about but otherwise don’t have time for. Perhaps it is time to bring this perk back? (It sure would align with our core value of “Passionate About Making a Difference”).  “1% community time” would amount to 2.5 days per year.

Patio pass 1/2 day Friday’s. My friend Razor at I Love Rewards has a perk where they let employees take a Friday afternoon off on any day of the summer that they choose.

Extra vacation days for being a star. Voted by their peers monthly or quarterly, a star employee (at Nurse Next Door it would be the employee who lives our core values to the highest degree) is rewarded with extra vacation days.

“I don’t want to get out of bed” days. Sometimes you just don’t want to go to work. So give your employees a free pass to stay in bed for the day.

Cruise Control. Who needs a company car when Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman offers free memberships with Zipcar.  The firm covers the application and annual membership fee and encourages employees to use the cars for business and personal errands.

Employee spouse bonus. Send an employee’s spouse a $100 “bonus” with a note saying how much you appreciate their support for their spouse. Why? Because they have tons of influence over your employee’s motivation. And if they love the company that their spouse works at? That is good for the company!

Does anyone have any cool perks that I should consider? And to my team at Nurse Next Door, which ones should we have?

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Posted in core values Culture Hiring by admin 3 Comments