Creative Ways to Improve Staff Perks

Great staff are essential to quality senior care facilities, so it’s important that facilities show their appreciation for staff to retain their best workers. Providing staff perks can help to keep employees invested in a facility and say “thanks” for all of their hard work, but balancing quality perks with budgets can be a challenge. If you want to improve your staff perks, consider some of these creative options that are accessible at multiple price points.

Paid Time Off and Sick Leave

Paid time off and paid sick leave are valuable perks that can help employees to feel supported both on and off the job. Paid sick leave is particularly important in the caregiving industry, since it encourages employees to stay home when they’re unwell, rather than coming to work and potentially spreading an illness among staff and residents. When employees can enjoy paid time off, they’re more likely to take time off, allowing them to refresh and potentially helping to prevent employee burnout.

Improved Health Insurance

Look for ways that you can bolster the health insurance policies that you offer to your staff. Paying part or all of policy premiums, offering Flexible Spending Accounts, and providing supplemental health insurance options can help to ease financial burden on staff and can also encourage them to seek the health care they need. Other perks, like paid gym memberships, can also help to foster a culture of wellness.

Work-Life Balance

One of the most valued perks might be simply taking the time to create a work-life balance for your employees. Offering flexible schedules, as possible, and minimizing overtime demands on employees can help to prevent burnout and bolster employee satisfaction. When overtime is needed, providing overtime and holiday bonuses can show your staff that you appreciate their dedication to the job.

Special Staff Events

Holding special staff events is a fun perk that also makes for valuable bonding opportunities. You can hold many different types of events:

• Celebrations and breakfasts to welcome new staff
• Holiday celebrations
• Staff retreats
• Paid staff volunteer days
• Staff celebration and thank-you days and meals

Online Training

Provide staff with access to online training opportunities. A staff membership to online learning resources like Lynda or Coursera can help staff to advance their skills while also allowing them to pursue their own areas of interest. Covering tuition costs for continuing education programs is another great perk, helping employees to advance their careers.

Emergency Support

Staff often become like family, and when staff go through unexpected and significant life events, a facility can support them like a family, too. Aegis Living, an assisted living community in Bellevue, Washington, created a foundation for employees called the Potato Soup Foundation. Employees can request emergency funds for unexpected like events, like paying for a cancer treatment or buying new car tires to help an employee get to work safely.

Giveaways

During staff trainings, retreats, or holiday parties, consider holding a giveaway. Aegis Living holds an annual lottery giveaway where 15 employees receive $1,000 prizes, and one lucky recipient gets a $50,000 prize. Prizes don’t have to be that large to be appreciated, though. Gift cards to local restaurants, gift basket prizes, and even a year’s entitlement to a prized parking space at the facility can all make for meaningful prizes.

Providing some great staff perks can help to not only boost staff morale, it can also be a valuable asset in retaining employees and attracting quality talent. Given the cost of employee turnover and the difference that talented staff can make in residents’ lives, it’s easy to justify the costs of perks as a wise business investment.

Paige Cerulli

Paige Cerulli is a contributing writer to i Advance Senior Care.