Non-Financial Rewards to Retain and Attract Staff

Engaging and retaining top talent is one of the biggest challenges facing Executives and managers today. So how do you retain high performers and prevent losing them to your competitors? Human beings are all motivated by different things and not everybody is driven by financial compensation. Sure, nobody is going to turn down a pay rise, but there are many other ways that you can reward your staff for good performance and retain them in the organisation. Similarly, non-financial rewards can also be used to attract the right talent to your organisation and many jobseekers now look beyond the dollar sign to consider the whole package on offer.

Three non-financial rewards that are desired by staff at all levels (including Executives!) are:

• Training and development initiatives: providing staff with opportunities to learn new job duties or to be involved in professional development opportunities, such as leadership training, can heighten commitment in staff and increase their job satisfaction. They will also be able to use their new skills to add value to the business.
• Flexible working hours: offering flexibility to staff around working hours is perhaps becoming the most in demand non-financial reward of jobseekers. We are now living in a digital age where more and more work is done online and can be accessed remotely. It’s no longer the case that people need to be in the office from 9 to 5 to be productive. Furthermore, women are more strongly represented in the workforce now than ever before and many have to combine work and family commitments. Offering work structured around school hours or the ability for staff to work from home can enhance job attractiveness to existing and potential employees.
• Employee benefits: Simple things such as a car park, additional annual leave, team social events or even finishing early on a Friday can make a world of difference to some people. Increasing benefits also improves employee motivation, fosters a positive culture and encourages loyalty and commitment to the organisation.

The task facing employers is to create packages that maximise appeal to potential or current employees, whilst meeting cost related objectives. The good thing is that when business is quiet or there is pressure to cut costs, non-financial rewards can be used to retain high performers and keep your business moving forward. It’s also a quid pro quo situation as well. If the employee demonstrates greater performance with these options, why wouldn’t you utilise them? JP Smith works with businesses to help them attract, retain and motivate top talent, including succession planning, HR consulting and Manager workshops. If you have any questions about how to get the best out of your people, please call us on (07) 4659 7400 or (07) 3333 2200.