AJ Coach Matthew Turner is an architect and careers consultant who runs the Building on Architecture consultancy. Email him in confidence at [email protected]
What benefits can I offer my staff to stop them leaving?
Volunteering opportunities can also be an appealing employee benefit. What’s more, they don’t exactly break the bank for businesses, and instead, help all feel like they are giving back to the community.
However, I suggest the main area worth considering is time. Flexibility with time is routinely one of the most attractive benefits you can offer, with compressed hours, distance working and a variety of options carefully – and consistently – offered, you can really maintain the appeal of your practice.
I have a small practice with a team I really value and I want to ensure I retain them. What cost-effective benefits can offer my employee?
Holiday trading is another cost-effective and practical employee benefit for you to offer team members, where employees have the opportunity to buy and sell annual leave. Whether it’s to attend a last-minute event, go on a spontaneous holiday, or to sell their annual leave for some cash at Christmas, it offers flexibility with little outlay.
Many schemes are available that operate a salary sacrifice model which is of course win-win for employer and employee alike, from a tax and National Insurance perspective. Whether extra pensions contributions, cycle to work, extra childcare support or financial wellbeing programmes, these can be a very effective way of stretching a headline salary to include valuable services and activities.
Some may need some degree of setup and can vary in uptake, however, so you want to know your employees will take advantage of these, once in place.
While sabbaticals could hinder business growth and performance by leaving the practice a person short, this kind of freedom and rest gives people the chance to rejuvenate ready for a strong return to work.
Normally, these will last a month or two and are offered to employees who have demonstrated loyalty and commitment to the practice, such as being with the company for more than five years.
Not only does personal development improve job satsfaction, it also retains talented people
Talking of annual leave, unpaid sabbaticals are another form of holiday allowance rarely offered in the UK, yet are a very cherished benefit.
Personal development is one of the most promising and cost-effective employee benefits. Not only does it improve job satisfaction, but it also retains talented people. Going back five or ten years ago, this might have incurred a large cost; but with the growing online course industry, these can now be very cost-effective.
تحریریه اخبار معماری آریانا