As a small business, it can be tough to consider incentives and benefits for your staff. You may not be making enough money to give them everything you want them to have, but there are benefits you CAN provide your staff in the meantime.
Years 1-3: There were very few benefits we could provide our staff in these early years. Flexible time off was hard because we were a small program and health insurance was out of the question, but here’s what we could do: We showed them regular appreciation with small things like Sonic drinks, Saturday morning bagels, and new apparel. In these early years, let your staff know you appreciate them and are working hard to provide them the benefits they deserve. You’re likely to find loyal staff who will stick with you and help you grow during this time. Don’t get upset though when you lose people because they need health insurance. That’s a very “adult” decision and it makes sense.
Years 4-7: During these years, we slowly started to add benefits. We found other businesses who were willing to work with us to provide benefits such as discounts at their restaurant, discounts on massages, etc. We also got a Planet Fitness in town and could offer our staff memberships for just $10/mo. Staff who had children were able to get a tuition discount on recreational class programming, and we were able to hire full-time staff who could have flexible time off (meaning they could take time when they needed it). Though we couldn’t offer a full healthcare plan at the time, we worked with our CPA to offer a healthcare stipend to help in covering the monthly cost of a plan.
Years 8-10: We spent a lot of time focusing on benefits in these years. We had great staff who had stuck with us a long time. We also had full-time staff by this point who we wanted to keep. So, we rolled out direct deposit (yes, I know – we were late on this, but I had some logistical issues when we rolled it out temporarily a few years prior), a Simple IRA with employer-matching contributions (easy to set up with your CPA and won’t break the bank), tuition reimbursement (a tax deductible expense for both your staff and your business) and now we’re re-attacking a health insurance plan.
So if you’re looking at staff benefits and thinking, “I’ll never be a ‘real job’.” I once thought that as well. Just remember – you can’t do it all at the beginning. You’ll need to do this in phases, but can you afford to offer staff benefits as time progresses? If it’s a priority to you, the answer is yes!
