I have never owned my own business, but I did work as a manager twice in the private sector and once with the federal government.  I found a lot has been written about perks employees want.  I found an outstanding article on this subject in the latest Indianapolis Business Journal opinion supplement, Forefront.

The piece was written by John McDonald, CEO of Clear Object, a tech firm headquartered in downtown Fishers.  He cites five things that employers can offer, that their workers will value, and they all cost no money at all.

The first item listed is the program called “flexible work schedules.”  Under this plan, employees work the same number of hours each week, they just set their own schedules.  I have seen this work very successfully, particularly during my days with the federal government.

The second may be a bit more controversial, unlimited vacation time.  McDonald argues that employees tend to take the same amount of time-off as provided in strict company vacation rules.  He says when employees know they can take time off when they genuinely need it, trust is created between employee and employer.

The third is paid time-off for volunteer and community service work.  This provides employees with a balance in their lives and benefits the workers’ local community.

The fourth item may be the most important – managers actively supporting professional growth within their work force.  While a federal government manager, I placed a high priority on developing my employees so they would be competitive when openings were available.  Once I had a reputation for getting my own people promoted, I had tons of applicants for any job listing within my own shop.  I learned first-hand the benefits of providing opportunities for advancement.

The final item is providing a safe place to fail.  That was a little harder to do in the government setting, but I tried not to be heavy-handed when employees did fail on the job, emphasizing learning from any mistakes and failures, then moving forward with a better outlook.  The tech world is definitely tuned into this.  When there is a fear of failure, innovation suffers.

I would recommend you read John McDonald’s Forefront piece in full.  I could not agree with him more that employers can provide important benefits to their workers with little or no cost.    You can read his article at this link.    (NOTE:  If you are not an IBJ subscriber, you may be limited on the number of articles you may access for free)