Recently I’ve seen quite a few posts from various businesses offering 'great' or 'expectational' benefits, such as free fruit, free coffee, Netflix, a pool or foosball table, dress down, one boasting that they play music in the office and another that they have a fancy coffee machine (but then makes the employees pay for their own capsules).
The global employee landscape is shifting, so let's ask ourselves – are these actually benefits? The way I see it, these aren't exactly benefits, but rather the culture and part of a good working environment for the people. I have been privileged to talk to some great recruiters and recruits over the years and what the employees want most is flexibility and trust; you give this to them and they’ll be sure to give you 100% in return.
So, what's there that can be done to change the norm?
Ability to work remotely
With the power of Cloud, Video, WhatsApp, Slack and not forgetting the good old fashioned phone, why should employees be stuck between four walls all year? Whether it’s a month over Christmas spending time with loved ones, working from a beachside retreat or fit-camp to escape the warm summers, being able to not miss out of wedding season, or just simply working from ‘home’ wherever that may be - companies can provide all the tools, such as a cloud based CRM, personal laptop and mobile phone allowance so that you can take your work anywhere in the world (with Wi-Fi) and truly work remotely.
Flexible working hours
What are you - a night owl or early bird? You should have option to start early, finish early or start late and finish late.
Work from home one day a week
Did you spend the evening at that networking event? Is there a gym-class you don’t want to miss? Do you have family over, or an important home delivery? Then you can have the option to work from home and manage your day around what you have on.
Pick which 5 of the 7 days you want to work
This is ideal when you have a deadline to meet, want to target a certain country or you are simply the tour guide for your visiting family or friends.
No thresholds
Earn on all the revenue you bring into the business, it’s only right that you are paid for all the hard work you put in to delivering an excellent service.
30 days holiday
We know that you work in a high pressure environment, so you do need time to relax and recharge, catch up with family or go on that epic trip you worked hard and been saving for!
Weekly training
You can’t move forward if you’re standing still, so it's important to constantly challenge, up-skill and improve your staff with regular training sessions and workshops.
Opportunity to own a stake in the business
Work with the company, grow with the company and own with the owners – that's the true reward for helping the business grow.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget those standard one's too - free fruit and snacks, free coffee (with the capsules provided) and tea, Netflix, PlayStation, foosball, dress down every day and yes, play music. That's just basic.
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