You found our list of the best employee discount program ideas.
Employee discount program ideas are part of a benefits package that provides your workers discounted services or vouchers at popular online and high street retailers. Examples include a learning and development budget, retail discount vouchers, partner concessions, and mental health support. The program aims to help employees save money on everyday expenses like eating out, traveling, and grocery shopping. In addition, employee discounts improve morale, productivity, and general well-being.
These programs are a type of worker benefit and perk and employee incentive. These methods are often used in conjunction with employee recognition programs and as ways to motivate remote workers.
This article contains:
- employee discount programs for small businesses
- top employee discount program ideas
- employee discount websites
- corporate discount program ideas
Here we go!
List of employee discount program ideas
Workers value companies that show concern for their workers’ health and financial security. Consequently, putting money into benefits effectively decreases turnover while simultaneously boosting employee loyalty and commitment. As a result, employees can get more out of their paychecks and may subsequently invest in what matters most to them. The following are discount program ideas for your business.
1. In-House Discounts
You do not need to make any specific agreements with other organizations to meet the requirements of your workers and company. A discount card for in-house goods and services may be a good option. You may reward your staff and boost your bottom line by offering them discounts on company goods and services at special rates. If you extend the deal to your workers’ loved ones, then you may see an uptick in business.
2. L&D Budget
A learning and development budget is a great way to upskill your employees and show commitment to their personal development. There are several upsides to investing in your staff’s education and experience. A more knowledgeable and capable workforce is beneficial for any business.
Furthermore, when an organization invests in its workers’ professional growth, employee job satisfaction and motivation rise. Therefore, this option can potentially increase employee engagement.
Budgets for employee training and education are growing, reflecting firms’ perspective change. According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Workplace Learning & Development Report, most divisions are no longer concerned about their L&D budgets. As a result, the L&D staff should have equal funding and perks as other departments in the company. You can offer your employees stipends or discounts to offset the cost of getting a course or certification. You may even be able to negotiate special rates on courses or tuition with learning platforms or educational institutions.
Read more about the importance of professional development.
3. Partner Concessions
As a valued customer, many of your vendors will offer your staff discounts on products and services like computers, printers, and printing services. Some companies may demand a minimum number of transactions each quarter, six months, or annually. In any case, this discount idea boosts your relationship with your staff and clients. You can contact your business partners to see if they have any rebate or concession plans. If any of your business partners is ready to make concessions, you can ask whether they offer discount cards or if your workers only need to show ID or an employee number at the point of sale.
4. Discount Dealers
When you either cannot find a discount card option that suits your needs or want to provide multiple discounts to your employees, consider working with a company that provides access to numerous discounts for products and services from a wide range of businesses. Some common employee discount websites include BetterWorks, PerksCard, Next Jump, or Abenity. For a price, these businesses, sometimes known as discount dealers, can assist you in locating, selecting, and administering a multiple discount scheme. These organizations often provide a website where your workers may shop for discounts and a discount account number or card with a number they can use at the point of sale, online or in-store.
5. Retail Discount Vouchers
Retail discount vouchers to local stores are a great way to show you care about the needs of your workers and earn their loyalty. You could have your staff compile a list of their preferred discount categories and stores they often shop. Movie and event tickets, meals, spa and gym memberships, and cleaning and laundry services are some standard discounts company owners offer. Moreover, some organizations arrange discount programs in supermarkets, drugstores, petrol stations, and hotels. You can contact stores on the list to negotiate price reductions and loyalty card programs. To avoid negotiating terms with a store, you may buy gift cards in advance and have the recipient redeem them at their convenience.
One classic option is to hand out coupon books to local businesses.
6. Salary Sacrifice Scheme
These innovative perks ask workers to trade a portion of their salary for another benefit, like money to put toward the lease of a fuel-efficient vehicle. The employee and the company both profit since their taxable income reduces.
Salary sacrifice programs that include private healthcare plans are also popular with employees. You may choose various health cash plan options, from the somewhat cheap to the prohibitive. Salary sacrifice benefits the employer and the employee by helping them save money and by encouraging the employee to take care of themselves.
7. Mental Health Support
Your workers’ mental health is essential. You can mitigate the cost of mental health care in several ways, including having access to therapy and counselors on call or through telehealth.
One excellent method of providing this discount program for workers is via an Employee Assistance Program. Employees can speak to a trained professional in complete privacy about any issues that may be causing them stress. In addition to providing workers with access to confidential support around the clock, EAPs also offer businesses the flexibility to assist their staff most conveniently.
Group meditation and mindfulness classes are low-cost alternatives. These options help workers tune in to their emotions, which is a critical first step toward mental wellness.
Check out mental health awareness ideas for work.
8. Reduced Lunches
Depending on your preferences, monthly lunches are an inexpensive choice for employee discount programs for small businesses. The shared experience of lunch has brought individuals of different cultures closer together for centuries. The same is true in the corporate world. This option is a wonderful way to express appreciation, recognize your staff, and foster camaraderie. In addition, free or discounted lunches can increase office morale since they allow employees to socialize outside the confines of their desks and break up the monotony of working hours.
Your workers are probably already eating out, so saving them money is a win-win situation. Discounts to local establishments are a nice bonus that may help employees make ends meet. Many discount programs provide discounts at various local businesses such as restaurants and cafés. For example, employees may get a free Uber Eats coupon via the program.
Free coffee is another discount option if you are not working with an astronomical budget. This option is underrated, but excellent coffee has a significant impact on companies all around the globe. By providing your staff with coffee, you are doing everyone a favor. You can treat employees to a cup of coffee from their go-to cafe instead of the instant coffee in the break room.
9. Movie tickets
Employees let some steam off in many ways. For this reason, entertainment savings schemes are great perks to offer employees. For example, free or discounted movie tickets are a terrific option for your corporate discount program ideas. Giving workers the freedom to choose their entertainment ensures that every member will find an option they like and can share with their loved ones. This discount idea does not have to break the bank but should make the staff feel appreciated and special. Not to mention, this option will be popular with families looking for ways to entertain kids without breaking the bank.
10. Free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
On a Friday afternoon, when your team is just finishing their work, you could offer them respite with inexpensive drinks. Employees will love the chance to pop open that beer or soda to relax a little and unwind. Even though it is a modest gesture, offering drinks fosters a positive business culture and a calm yet productive workplace. This option is an example of a benefit that does a lot of good without costing a lot of money. You can partner with a drink delivery service like Drizly or Minibar to offer employee discounts for your employees.
The benefits of employee discount programs
Keeping employees happy is challenging even if you have a robust employee benefits package that includes several essentials. The following are the primary benefits of offering discounts to employees.
1. Hiring Top Talents Gets Easier
Up to 60 percent of respondents in a Glassdoor study identified benefits and perks as significant factors in determining whether or not to accept a job offer. When one of the benefits of working for your company is access to a private site where employees can get exclusive discounts, you will stand out from the competition. Unfortunately, this system-wide framework is currently unavailable everywhere.
If you give any thought to your discount program, you will see the difference you can make by bringing on a vibrant new talent. Your talent acquisition efforts will be more effective despite committing the same budget.
2. Employees love discount programs
Some employees care more about your discount program than other perks like health insurance or life insurance. Your staff is hoping for money off at local businesses and on vacations. Discount programs for workers are a great way to show appreciation for employees’ hard work by giving them money off for the things they buy or do regularly anyhow. These programs are appealing because they enable employees to indulge in special treats rather than putting extra money towards bills. Plus, most folks love the thrill of scoring a sale. You may show your employees how much you value their efforts by taking advantage of employee discount programs for small businesses.
3. Less Threat from Competitors
No business likes to see a key player leave for a rival company. It might hurt much more if a rival manages to woo an employee by offering them better perks. To keep competition at bay, develop a strong employee discount program. Your employees will be more loyal to your company if they have access to a platform that offers discounts on a broad range of items and services.
4. Good Value for Money
Many companies cannot afford to reward their workers lavishly. In any case, bonuses are a significant factor in how successful a business is in retaining and satisfying its workforce. Giving your staff members special prices is a great way to show your appreciation without breaking the bank. Startups may save money on providing employee perks by forming partnerships with local vendors.
5. Improved morale among workers
Perks and discounts are great ways to show employees how much you value them and their work. With these reductions and freebies, you may create a fantastic workplace. You can acknowledge superior performance with a higher level of compensation. When shopping at the best brands in the world, both online and off, using a discount provider offers you more options with special corporate offers, discounts, and cashback.
Using a points-based system to recognize and reward workers has gained traction at several firms. When employees do well, the corporation pays them more generously.
How to Implement an Employee Discount Program
Employee discount programs strengthen ties between the company and its staff. Here are some points to keep in mind when creating a discount program for employees so that the relationship is long-lasting and beneficial to all parties involved.
1. Review the Related Products and Services
Most businesses start these initiatives by looking for products and services. First, it helps to find out the brands, products, or services that can be part of the discount program and if your staff will recognize these brands. It would help if you considered sticking to well-known, widely distributed names like Samsung, LG, or Toyota. Even if your worker does not regularly use these corporations, well-known brands demonstrate trustworthiness.
2. Choose Local Options
Employee discount programs that highlight local firms can potentially boost employee spending. Including indigenous options will increase the success of your discount program while also benefiting local businesses.
Businesses like pubs, restaurants, clothes shops, and movie theaters that workers frequent in their spare time are good candidates for inclusion if you are having trouble deciding which offers to include. These incentives often mean more to the employee, increasing the likelihood that they will continue to use the business.
3. Offer Exclusive Discounts
You should avoid offering widely-available offers as exclusive offers. Discount schemes are abundant and the options include discounts already widely accessible elsewhere online. Common offers will be less exciting and appealing to employees.
You should ensure any employee discount programs you provide are not only open to the general public. A great discount program offers services and products that are desirable and highly used at special rates not accessible to the masses. These programs may even offer one-of-a-kind discounts, yet these offerings should still be useful and familiar.
Providing exclusive discounts to workers will boost morale and pride in their job and create an insider culture.
4. Consider the Discount’s Relevance
Whether you provide private or public discounts, the relevance of your offers to your employees will primarily depend on the depth of your values. Specifics, such as the typical price cut for the goods, should be crystal clear. In addition, you can ask your employees to know what discounts they prefer. The significance of medical procedure discounts and theft insurance is high. However, the underlying reality is that consumers spend far less money in these areas.
A significant portion of the income of the upper middle class is spent on flashy goods and services. This means that you should provide discounts on high-end or leisure items. For example, your office will benefit from the increased morale brought on by the usefulness of goods like smartphone coupons and vacation deals.
5. Consider Contract Duration
Your agreement with the company offering the discount program is also important. You should find out how long the contract is in effect and the notice period if you do not want to continue using the services. You also need to know if the agreement will automatically renew at the end of its term. You should keep these points in mind when making decisions.
Conclusion
Since discounts are crucial to rewarding and recruiting top employees, more and more companies are turning to services that give discounts via a wide range of shops.
Employee discount programs are often misunderstood as a way for workers to just save money or indulge themselves. However, reductions on big-ticket purchases like gadgets, automobiles, and even houses may help offset the interest that workers would otherwise have to pay, and discounts on daily necessities can add up to significant savings over time.
The best plan is always simple to adopt, requires little upkeep, and poses little danger. With the aid of the proper service provider, you can establish top employee discount program ideas for workers that are tailored to their specific needs. Which, if implemented, will unquestionably assist ease your company’s severe financial strain.
Now, read up on employee experience books and ways to improve employee satisfaction.
Grace He