Feature
Five Tips for Creating and Running
a Successful Benefits and Perks Program
By Roland Salmi, MBA and Gabriella Hunt | Westminster Consulting
R
ecently,we were able to chat
with Lauren Dixon, the CEO
of Dixon Schwabl. Lauren gave
us considerable insight into how she
operates her business and continually
provides a geat work enviroment—
one which has earned the company
numerous awards. During our interview,
(which you can read on page 18) we
were able to pinpoint five core tips we
believe, helps to make Dixon Schwabl
successful and maintain their awardwinning status.
1.
Money Does Not
Equal Success.
The days of thinking that money is
the driver of productivity are gone.
More and more studies are showing
that benefit packages are starting to
sway people away from higher-paying
jobs if another company offers a more
desirable benefits package.
2.
Empower Employees.
Employees want to do their job, so give
them the opportunity to do so. Don’t
micro-manage. If employees feel their
ideas, opinions, position matters, they
will do what is best for your company.
Let them do what they are hired to do
and get the heck out of their way.
32 | WINTER 2015
3.
4.
Find Out What Your
Employees Want.
This Applies to
ANY Business.
Too often employers enact a benefit
or perk they believe is going to be a
huge success only for it to fall short
in the eyes of their employees. The
end result is frustrated employers and
employees and wasted resources, time,
and money.
If you think this article doesn’t apply
to your company, it does. Any business
can run a successful benefit and perks
program and thereby, become touted
as a great place to work.
Here is one example we recently heard:
A company spent a significant amount
of money and resources building a
cafeteria, hiring chefs, etc. in order to
provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner
to their employees. Great idea right?
Well, in theory it was. It turns out
employees took this as “I have to stay
and work later since my employer is
providing me all 3 meals.” Because
of this, employee counseling service
use increased and moral decreased.
Employees were working significantly
longer days and therefore, having more
problems at home. So this project,
which all of management was excited
about, turned out to be a complete flop
and caused headaches.
There is a simple solution: Ask your
employees what they want. This can
be as simple as a company email or
survey. You might be surprised at how
simple the requests of your employees
can be (Think: ice cream Thursdays
or ½ day Fridays). Later on, the email
or surveys you send can also become
great goal-setting tools.
In a recent article by Forbes Great
Places to Work Institute: Best Small
and Medium Workplaces 2014, Badger
Mining Corporation was named one
of the top small places to work. It has
been top of the list for the past three
years so if a mining company be a best
place to work, no one has an excuse
as to why they are not improving their
work environment. The Great Places
to Work list contains companies from
almost every industry.
5.
Its Not About You,
It’s About People.
Whether it’s donating to charities
and giving your employees incentive
to be involved or ensuring that your
company is a great place to work, if
you make your business about people
success should follow. Businesses want
to work with companies that give back.
Generally speaking, happy employees
equal greater productivity which is
good for the bottom line.