IBEX

Yes, show me the money, but what else can you offer?

While no one is willing, or able, to work for free, more and more people are inquiring about the intangible benefits of a company when deciding where to apply for a job or accept an offer of employment.

Intangible rewards are affordable, easily implemented and make it easier for employers to compete in today's competitive marketplace.

Here are some ideas on how to become an employer of choice:

Social Hour

Knock off a few minutes early on Friday afternoons and encourage everyone to gather in a common area for some informal socializing. Take turns bringing treats and make sure the conversation steers clearly away from work. Your employees and co-workers are people as well as professionals. Get to know them better.

Break Bread Together

Designate one day a week or every other week to meet in the conference room and eat lunch together. It doesn't have to be fancy and you don't even have to order out. Just get everyone to bring their lunch from home and sit with some friends instead of eating at your desk. It's a nice break-away from the every-day.

Family Barbeques

Host a barbeque in the summer months and encourage your employees to bring their families and significant others. Grill up some burgers and dogs and plan a few games for the kids. We spend so much time talking about our families at work and our work families at home, it's time for the two to meet.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day

While this is already a nationally-recognized annual initiative, Bring your Child to Work Day it doesn't always occur at a convenient time for many businesses and is promoted mainly to people with children 15 years and older. Create your own event to help those employees who are parents show off their kids to their employers and give the kids an inside look at why mom and dad leave the house every day.

Performance Initiatives

Reward your top performers with non-monetary prizes such as leaving work an hour early every Friday for a month or paid lunch breaks for a week. For organizations with a high number of shift workers, give top performers the opportunity to choose what shifts they want to work in a designated week.

Employee of the Month

Different from performance initiatives, employee of the month awards can go to those who went beyond the level of expectation, were observed doing a good deed, or contributed significantly to a team-building exercise. Give the winner the best parking spot for a week.