The upside to the economic downturn: Rewarding staff in tough times

COMPANIES are discovering that employees are motivated by more than money as they face challenging economic times, according to experts.

Firms facing tight budgets are finding more creative ways of rewarding and retaining their staff as they try and limit wage rises.

Maintaining positive staff relations is one of the subjects considered in detail in a new 16-page supplement “The upside to the economic downturn”, from TheBusinessDesk.com in partnership with RSM Tenon.

Richard Bright, head of audit for Yorkshire at RSM Tenon, argues offering staff additional benefits need not cost a business much money but can be well worth it in terms of staff loyalty and retention.

“Think about the lifetime of the employee, not just this year. So that includes sickness and maternity policies,”” he says.

Benefits can range from one-off gestures to raise staff morale to offering more flexibility over working hours.

Alan Chalmers,partner in DLA Piper’’s employment team in Sheffield, says: “Employers should take care when drafting flexible benefits arrangements for employees, to give themselves the flexibility to amend or end the scheme depending on future business need.””

Click here to read more features in this series and to download the free supplement.