Employees have more choices than ever before to make a living.
In addition to a regular office or retail job, employees have increasing opportunities to work from home with an online business. Or, they can participate in the “gig economy” and take on work with businesses like Lyft, Uber, and TaskRabbit that provide a lot of flexibility.
Due to the fact that employees can switch jobs very easily in today’s market, the turnover cost can be very high to business owners. And it’s also why more business owners are understanding the importance of showing appreciation for their employees.
In the U.S., Employee Appreciation Day takes place the first Friday in March. This day makes for an amazing opportunity to show appreciation as well as potentially increase sales for your franchise business.
Here we take an in-depth look as to why celebrating this day with your franchisees is so important.
Cost Savings from Employee Retention
Even though your franchisees are running their own independent business, it’s still a good idea to provide ideas and suggestions to your franchisees in order for them to help keep their employees happy.
Why does this matter to you?
According to a report by Employee Benefit News, employee turnover can cost an employer up to 33% of a workers salary. For a worker making $30,000 a year, that means it could cost up to $10,000 to replace them. Happier employees have also proven to reflect an increase in productivity.
If you or your franchisees have high turnover, that can mean less profit for them. It will also impact the bottom line at your locations as well.
By focusing on appreciating employees, you and your franchisees can help retain employees and avoid these extreme costs.
Happy Employees = Happy Customers
Have you ever walked into a business and automatically felt that the people working there weren’t happy?
It’s not a good feeling. In fact, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s likely you didn’t return to that store or retailer to do business.
On the other hand, you’ve also probably worked with a business where you could tell the employees enjoyed their jobs. It makes you want to continue doing business with that establishment knowing that their employees are treated well.
The same goes for the locations you operate in addition to your franchisee’s locations. When employees are appreciated, it shows. Customers will want to do business with you, and the best part is that they will share that positive experience with others.
Attract More Franchisees
Just as your customers will notice the happy environment at your locations, so will potential franchisees.
Most people looking to get into the franchise business will do their due diligence. They will research your business, investigate how things are run, and possibly visit a location or two.
What kind of vibe do you want to portray for these potential business partners?
More than likely, you want them to see a business that is run well, operates efficiently, and appreciates its employees. If they see otherwise, they may feel as if both them and anyone they hire won’t receive the necessary support.
When people can see a positive environment, it will encourage them to sign on with you as a franchisee.
Ways You Can Celebrate Employee Appreciate Day
As you can see, happier employees make a significant difference for them, your customers, and the success of your franchise business.
You can celebrate Employee Appreciation Day by sharing the following ideas with franchisees:
- Catering lunch or other food items for the staff. You could also mix things up a bit and do a brunch-style catering or go a more fun route and have an ice cream social.
- Mix fun with teambuilding. Take your employees on an excursion that encourages both fun and having them work together to strengthen relationships in the workplace.
- Pass out gift cards. If your staff is constantly going for coffee runs, a gift card from the local coffee shop will work well. Or, you can do something more generic that will work for everyone in the group like an Amazon or Visa gift card.
- Give them time off. Depending on the business, you can give employees a half day or full day off of their choice.
Need Help with Showing Appreciation or Employee Retention?
Keeping employees happy and appreciated can be a full-time job.
At Big Sky Franchise Team, we offer many resources to make this much easier and help you save time. We are available to help you with strategies such as sales and training, leadership assessment, teambuilding, and much more.
If you’d like to discover more ideas on how to keep employees happy and productive, schedule a free consultation with us today.
