Christmas Employee Rewards

Christmas Employee Rewards

28 November 2017

Employees lie at the centre of any good business, most entrepreneurs know this already. As Richard Branson was once quoted as saying: “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”

With Christmas fast approaching, many businesses are looking at suitable ways to reward their employees for all the hard work they’ve done of the previous 12 months. While bonuses are always welcome, the amount of tax your staff might have to pay on them may have you looking for alternatives. If your business is fighting a tight bottom line, then you may not have the money to spare and spread around as you’d like.

If you’re after suitable rewards that aren’t all about cash, here are some options that you may find appealing to give your staff a boost over the Yuletide period:

Give a Gift

Cash bonuses can often disappear into thin air, especially if the credit cards have been hammered over Christmas. Opting for a personal gift can not only put you in your employees good books but boost their moral, motivation and productivity during this busy period. For example, if you have a staff member who’s getting fit in the New Year buying them a Fitbit as a gift could say a bigger thank you than you think.

Cater for the Family

Employees like to think that they are valued so how about getting to know them a little better? Find out what’s most important over Christmas and cater for that, involving the whole family. If you’ve got a larger number of employees it might not be possible to do this in detail but that doesn’t prevent you from creating a list of gifts everyone can choose from. You can include a relatively expensive bottle of wine, for example, to help the turkey go down or a Christmas hamper a traditional gift or add something whacky like the latest fun gadget.

Christmas Employee RewardsChristmas Employee Rewards – An Extra Day’s Paid Holiday

If you’re staff have been really integral to moving your company forward, one way to give them a tangible reward is an extra day or two off. They can use it to go shopping at Christmas or simply spend it at home, even add it to their big vacation next year.

Leaving early on Christmas Eve is also always a winner and guaranteed to get a round of applause. Work life balance is a growing issue in busy work environments, especially for those with families, so giving more time at home could be just the ticket.

Have a Bonding Moment

Pick something interesting that everyone would like to do and treat your staff to a day or evening out somewhere. That could be a trip to the go-karting ring, a night out on the town or some crazy paintballing to get everyone excited. These are great occasions for building team spirit as well as showing your appreciation for a job well done.

Don’t Forget to Say Thank You, Personally

One thing that many business owners often forget is that saying, ‘thank you’ is one of the most underrated things you can do for a staff member. It’s a simple thing and costs nothing to do which is why many people think it doesn’t have value. But it does. We all like to be thanked for our hard work and you can take it further by then working with staff to see how they want to develop their careers in the New Year.

Employee rewards should never be just about money. If you want to say thank you to your staff this festive season, then there are plenty of ways to do that which everyone will appreciate. These simple rewards can make a big difference to staff morale and make sure you start the New Year with plenty of energy.