I have a small welding and general fabrication shop. I've got 5 employees, and we do some low tolerance manual machining, welding, and general fab. Mostly furniture related stuff. I'm pretty competitive with the base pay the employees get, but I can't compete with larger shops on benefits, like 401K's, health and dental insurance, etc. I'm looking for some ways to make these guys like working here more. I don't really have a problem with employee retention yet, mainly because I've only had these guys working here for less than a year, so I'm not sure what my average turn over rate will be. But I'd like these guys to stick around for a while. Currently I offer them a paid lunch break, as much overtime as they want, and they can set their own hours. They also get 60 hours per year vacation time. I also buy lunch for everyone about twice per month. I try to keep out of their work as much as I can, as long as they're meeting production goals and the work is getting done properly, I don't care how they do it.
But I'm looking for other little ways I can make them enjoy their job more. My experience has always been that if an employee truly enjoys working for a company, they will look for ways to move up in that company instead of looking for higher paying jobs. I understand I can't please everyone, and sometimes there's not much I can do to keep a good employee, but for the most part, I'd just like to keep these guys from even looking for a new job in the first place. So I'm looking for things your employers have done in the past that just made you enjoy coming to work.
But I'm looking for other little ways I can make them enjoy their job more. My experience has always been that if an employee truly enjoys working for a company, they will look for ways to move up in that company instead of looking for higher paying jobs. I understand I can't please everyone, and sometimes there's not much I can do to keep a good employee, but for the most part, I'd just like to keep these guys from even looking for a new job in the first place. So I'm looking for things your employers have done in the past that just made you enjoy coming to work.