The fall is my favorite time of the year. The weather is not quite as hot, the rainy season has passed, football season is taking shape and the holidays are fast approaching. November and December are wonderful months in Gainesville.
This is also my favorite time of the year at the office. I enjoy planning for the upcoming year: forecasting, developing strategy and budgeting. It is all exciting to me. The best part of the planning and budgeting process for me is figuring out what added benefits we will be providing our team.
Gainesville is a very competitive employment market. For the top talent we are not only competing against larger companies in our own community, but we are also competing against companies in other markets that want to draw from the talent that we develop here. For us to remain competitive and retain our top talent we know that we have to continuously improve on the work experience for our team. We believe that maximizing the employee experience is our primary role as business owners. If we do that job well, they will help us take care of everything else.
Last year we focused on increasing staff pay through raises and also by introducing a structured bonus plan. Our payroll increased significantly in an effort to be in line with salaries in our industry. Increasing staff pay had been on our wish list for a long time. Last year we were able to make significant strides in that area.
Another benefit that we made available last year was medical insurance. While we are much smaller than the required 50 employee limit needed to offer healthcare coverage, we feel that it is important for us to provide that benefit.
This year we are looking to make similar improvements to our overall benefits package. To find the best possible benefits for our team we are reaching out to our peers to find out what they are doing. We are also asking our team what is important to them. Some possibilities include retirement plans, paid time off for volunteer work and improved continuing education opportunities, among others.
Don’t be surprised if you get a call from me asking about the unique benefits and perks that you offer your employees. I am eager to hear what other ideas there are out there that we can implement.
Happy Holidays. Have a fun and successful November.
