Can You Offer Attractive Employee Perks Without Breaking the Bank?
This article was updated on September 18, 2018.
We often hear of how organizations — especially high-tech firms — offer lavish, never-ending company perks for their employees. From dry cleaning to haircuts, free meals and on-site massages, these organizations seem to provide their teams with everything they could possibly want. While it might seem like only massive, multibillion-dollar organizations can offer these types of perks, that's not the case. Here are some tips on how you can establish relationships with vendors that will allow you to offer company perks in an affordable way:
Find Out What Your Employees Want
If a vendor is going to commit to coming to your office, it has to be worth their while. As such, it's important to make sure that you only invest in company perks that your employees actually want. Otherwise, you may waste the vendor's time and risk sabotaging a good partnership. That's why it's important to poll your employees before you establish this relationship. And, as time goes on, you should continue to make an effort to get their feedback on a regular basis.
Reach Out to Local Vendors
Don't assume that the most desirable perks always come with a steep price tag. After all, many local businesses are happy to establish partnerships with midmarket companies. For example, Fazio Dry Cleaners, a dry cleaning and laundry chain in California and Nevada, offers free office pickup and delivery for corporate clients of any size. If you don't make an effort to seek out these types of partnership opportunities, you could be missing out.
Highlight the Number of Potential Sales
When you reach out to vendors, be sure to stress the amount of business you could bring to them. Explain how many employees you have and how often they plan on using the service, both for work-related tasks or for after-work activities. You can survey your employees ahead of time so that you have this information readily available. If a large group of employees is interested, you may be able to negotiate with a vendor for a better price on their products or services. To put yourself in an even better bargaining position, you could ask other nearby organizations if they would like to partner with the vendor as well. The more business you can offer, the better your chances of getting a good deal.
Establish a Reasonable Schedule
Consider how often your employees would take advantage of a particular perk and determine a schedule with your vendor accordingly. For example, you may want to offer dry cleaning services on a weekly basis. By being realistic about the actual need for a service, you can help ensure that all parties are happy with the partnership.
You don't necessarily need a huge budget to offer your employees attractive company perks. By following this advice, you can establish valuable relationships with local vendors who can offer your team great deals on different products and services.
