Employees love perks. They are like birthday presents all year long. They can also be non-taxable to employees and a tax deduction for small businesses. The best perks promote team building and provide daily reminders about how great it is to work for the company. For example, allow employees to work from home, bring in fitness trainers for free lunch-hour workshop, or offer free seminars by professional speakers on topics such as “The Dynamic Management Team”.
In this economy, cancel the holiday party and give employees practical perks; a BART card, movie and theatre tickets, or dinner reservations at a local, sustainable restaurant. Promote giving by exchanging the gift cards with a warm coat to give to the One Warm Coat project. Or, cancel the holiday party entirely and do something socially responsible. Each year, Nvidia funds a community project and their employees participate in the project. Last year they built a multimedia studio and a volleyball court at an elementary school in California working directly with the students.
For managers, give them something they cannot get on their own. I once had a boss pay for a reserved parking spot for me. I was a working mother with four sons. He knew that I would value a reserved parking spot much more than cash because I was not eligible to get one of the coveted parking spots on my own. He was right, and every day I parked in the spot, I thought of my great boss — the perk worked.
