How we (among other things) retain IT professionals with Superhero Allowance
Our company builds recruitment and job sites. An ICT club of 22 people in Nederweert, Limburg (yes, there is electricity, sewage and internet there too). Anyway, since 2009 we have been working with a wonderful club of young professionals with incredibly headstrong UX designers, Front-End developers, PHP developers, project managers and marketers. All generation Y.
Our company is seriously creative for its clients in both business and online products, but we (management of the club) also hold our standard, boring performance reviews with all employees twice a year. Around the summer a catch-up and just before Christmas the end-of-year review.
An example of a Nederweert end-of-year interview
Us: “Hey, sit down for a while. How has the last (half) year been?”
Professional: “Yeah, pretty good…”
Us: “Oh, great, we think so too.”
Professional: “Cool.”
Us: “You get something extra every month from January.”
Professional: “Chill.”
Us: “What?”
Professional: “Yeah, just cool…”
Long story short: the company is doing well italy whatsapp number and two years ago my partner and I decided to zoom in on the end-of-year interviews that we had just completed for evaluation. I told my partner how boring and predictable we have become towards our crew. Every employee knows which interview is coming in December and that they will get some salary extra. So we agreed that we would surprise the crew in the summer (which would come halfway through the new year).
Simply put, our crew had known the 'salary increase story' around Christmas for years, but not in the summer. I spent a few weeks thinking about the knowledge I have of salary increases and the (far too short) impact such an increase has on professionals. The problem is that a salary increase is the shortest-lasting happiness maker you can give someone. After two paychecks, the professional is already used to the increase and no longer thinks back to that magical 'summer surprise moment' that we had created.