Sure, we've all read the posts detailing the wildest perks companies offer. But does having a DJ booth, 
napping pods, or in-office slides really make for a happier, more productive employee? Your company can offer outlandish bells and whistles, but when it really comes down to it, they may not make your employees more satisfied or better at their job. And when it comes to attracting talent, do you really want your ping pong table to be a candidate's deciding factor? Instead, you can focus on smaller, perhaps less-sexy but much more important perks that will show candidates you value them and want them to have all the tools they need to succeed. Here's a list of a handful of perks that actually make a difference.
1. Well stocked kitchen
At Entelo, we subscribe to Napoleon Bonaparte's motto, "An army marches on it's stomach". Giving employees healthy lunches and snacks will make sure they are alert and energized (and could cut down on healthcare costs in the long term, too!). Further, if they can eat in the office, employees are less likely to disappear for an hour or more in the middle of the day to take their lunch.
2. Workspace allowance
Your employees will likely spend a great majority of their time planted in front of their desks. As such, it's crucial that they are as comfortable as possible. Some companies go as far as granting their employees a several thousand dollar allowance to buy additional equipment such as monitors, standing desks, or a particularly comfortable chair. Entelo foots the bill for each employee's dream pair of headphones, which allows us to get in the zone and really focus in on work, which isn't always the easiest in an open floor office plan. Personally, I'd pick my pair of Sennheiser headphones over an arcade room any day.
3. Gym Perks for the 21st Century
While gym memberships or subsidies are perhaps the most ubiquitous of perks, there are several new strategies emerging to further encourage healthy lifestyles among your employees. Wearable technologies like Jawbone and Fitbit help employees monitor their activity, and are easy to gamify and foster competition in your team. Additionally, you can foster team bonding by sponsoring yoga, barre method, or spin classes which employees can take together.
4. Give them a Lift
An employee's commute can add hours to their work day. Add in the cost of gas, train tickets, or bus fare, and you've got a formula for serious malcontent. A couple hundred dollars a month is alot to an employee, but not much to a company, so think about offering gas subsidies or help out with public transportation passes where you can. Also, you can make it easier for employees to travel together or work later by comping cab fares. If two or more Entelo team members take a Lyft home late, the company picks up the tab!
For your public transit commuters, provide a Mi-Fi card so they can work on the go. Facebook factors time working on the commute into an employee's total work day, meaning they are always productive and their effective time lost on the commute is none!
What other perks have you found actually make a difference to employees? Leave a comment or tweet @EnteloRob!
