Keeping skilled and trained employees is a top priority for all shops. But good employees are especially hard to come by for smaller shops that often must compete with larger shops or dealerships on the pay scale and benefits they can offer. That is why I think as a small shop owner, it’s important for me to have strong employee benefits.
What I offer to my employees has evolved and grown as my shop has grown. I wanted to offer my employees health insurance, but I would have to cover the cost. Otherwise, no one would have opted into the plan, as they don’t have the ability to pay $300 to $400 a month for health insurance. I started looking at what else I could offer them.
I started with offering a retirement investment plan, where they could put part of their salary in it and I would match their contribution up to 3%. Although I’ve had people come in to discuss financial literacy and the importance of saving for retirement, only one employee takes advantage of this.
To enhance their retirement savings, I'm considering a life insurance policy with a built-in savings plan or scaling contributions to a retiremant plan based on years of service. I'd contribute an additional 1% fo their salary to the plan after the first year, 2% at five years, and 3% after 10 years. In the meantime, if any want to contribute from their salary, I would raise the percentage to match their contribution, not to exceed 3%.
I've also implemented supplemental benefits through Advantix Bridge Insurance Solutions, offering affordable options like life, disability, accident, cancer, critical illness, dental, and vision insurance. All employees participate in at least one offering, even though they cover the cost themselves. I also provide $10,000 life insurance for each employee at a cost of less than $60 a month for everyone, which is crucial after experiencing three employee (non-work-related) deaths in recent years.
I also offer the traditional benefits of one week of sick leave a year and one week of vacation time a year after the first year of employment. I then bump the one week of vacation time to two weeks once they have been with me for five years.
There are two other employee benefits that I offer at my small shop. I have talked about them before, but I think they are two of the most popular benefits I offer and do much for longevity of my employees. The first is we offer a $10,000 retention bonus for every five years an employee stays with my shop. Thus far, I’ve paid out four of these retention bonuses, and they incentivize everyone in the shop because they see all of their hard work and loyalty is rewarded and I put my money where my mouth is. If you think $10,000 every 5 years of service is a lot then look at the numbers. That’s $2,000 for every year they stay. I don’t know what the cost is but if I lose an employee and then have to find another employee, train them, make sure they work well with my shop and I have to do that multiple times every few years then I guarantee I’m either losing that money in the transition or spending that money on the hiring and training process of the new employee. I would rather set that money aside in a high-yield interest account and pay loyal employees for their hard work and loyalty to my shop.
Another popular benefit is our flexible work schedule, adopted a year ago, allowing employees to work four 10-hour days. I gave my employees the option and flexibility to basically create their own schedule, within reason. I made it clear to everyone when we made this change a year ago that if work was not completed then we would go back to a 5 day a week, 8 hour-day schedule. This change has boosted productivity and employee satisfaction, offering more time for personal responsibilities and family.
While I can't compete directly with larger shops, I prioritize employee happiness and well-being through comprehensive benefits. Retaining skilled employees remains my top priority, and though I'm still refining our offerings, our current approach seems effective in achieving that goal.
