09/ 20/ 2006
by Ginny Phillips
If across-the-board raises aren't in the budget this year, don't worry. There are affordable ways to thank employees for a hard year's work that won't take a chunk out of your bottom line. Take a tip from these creative small-business owners to make your office a happier place for little to no cost.
For the stressed-out office
Schedule on-site massage therapists who will bring their equipment to your office. Some employers pay for the massages themselves, but plenty let employees pay for their own. (Standard cost is about $1 per minute.) Employees love the pampering, and employers report boosts in productivity.
"People said aches and pains they'd had for an extended period of time were--if not eliminated entirely--much less of a problem," says Lane Seliger, president of Lake Steel in Amarillo, Texas. "Our use of Tylenol has dropped by half. Plus, it gives everybody something to look forward to. No one is out sick on massage day."
For the team-player office
With an informal awards program at ADA Technologies in Littleton, Colo., the company's 35 employees get the chance to single out each other for praise. When staff members think someone else has done an outstanding job (even for a behind-the-scenes task), they head for the stack of ADA Bucks. The Monopoly-style coupons have a blank for why they're being awarded, and recipients redeem them for cash awards. If cash awards don't sound appropriate, consider free movie tickets, restaurant gift certificates or an extra vacation day.
For the caring office
A more communal use of sick time has taken hold in businesses across the country. At Tacoma, Wash.-based Rainier Pacific Bank, if an employee with a personal or family emergency needs a large number of sick days, co-workers can donate their own unused sick hours so the employee in need won't lose pay.
For the outdoor-loving office
A few hours off can make a big difference in attitude. In Baxter Springs, Kan., accountant DeAnn Hill noticed how strict rules about time off could affect employee morale in firms. So when she started her own four-person firm, Hill closed the office on Friday afternoons in the summer. Employees stay if there's a big project, but the policy has been a huge hit, Hill says.
