As an employer, whether you have two employees or two hundred, you’ll want to keep your staff on board, focused and happy. A happy member of staff will likely work more productively and be more loyal to you. It also has a knock-on effect on people around them. With that in mind, here are some good ideas for keeping your staff happy which won’t break the bank:

Speaking one on one

As a boss, you’re probably very busy every day. You might not even be based at the same office as your staff. With that said, you can get a lot out of speaking to your staff personally. Try and get out of the office every now and again to say Good Morning to your staff. They will feel the benefit in seeing you, too. You can get a feeling for the atmosphere and general mood amongst your staff and speak to them directly if you think there may be a problem.

Reward staff

You don’t have to give cash bonuses as a reward. There are lots of other, cheaper ways to keep staff happy. For instance, why not pay for breakfast to be brought into the office one morning. Croissants, orange juice, and fresh fruit could all work wonders and encourage your staff to feel valued. Fruitful Office, a London based company that deliver seasonal fruit baskets to office staff across the UK each week. In their survey, they found that 79% of people felt more valued as an employee when fruit was delivered and paid for by their boss. It is a quick, simple, easy and affordable way to reward staff. Not only this but by providing fruit or breakfast, you can really set your staff up for the day – they may even be more productive!

Let them go early (every so often)

When it comes to days like Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, or perhaps the night before a summer bank holiday weekend, staff really appreciate that extra hour to go home and enjoy. So every so often, if it is acceptable to do so, let your staff get off a little early. They will really feel happier for it! It can make staff feel that their employer really is human – more often than not, the higher management of a company is often perceived as ‘faceless’ – but by allowing staff a little extra time every so often, you can alter this perception – and hey, you can also go early yourself.

Consider training

Training your staff doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money. You could even conduct training yourself in-house. You can also get major deals and discounts with HR companies if you speak to them directly about what you want. Humanity said,

Employee turnover is one of the biggest ways small businesses are losing money every year. According to a study performed by the Dale Carnegie Training Center, 40 percent of poorly trained employees end up leaving their companies within their first year on the job.

So, it really is worth considering training your staff.

Dress down Fridays

If you work in an office environment and assuming there are no important client or supplier meetings that day, why not tell your staff they are free to ‘dress down’ on a Friday. They can wear jeans or casual dress and do not have to wear normal work attire. This small gesture often keeps staff happy. Companies that don’t have formal dress code policies may choose instead to allow staff to wear fancy dress, a concept known as ‘fancy Fridays.’ These dress down Fridays are in place all over the world, increasing staff morale and employee happiness. Some studies also show that employees feel more effective, and perform better, when dressed casually. It can also encourage more of a team and social environment.