As we approach the final days of summer and that imminent fall ramp up, it’s worthwhile to refresh our memories on the art of keeping employees happy.

“Happy employees” might seem like an oxymoron, but the business world claims we are a “knowledge economy,” and that knowledge only comes from people. According to Forbes magazine, David Ulrich is one of the world’s top five business coaches and he believes if you don’t treat your people well, there is no knowledge and simply put, treating employees well will inspire loyalty and much, much more.

One of those inspiring motivations is what we call “incentives.” Smaller companies often complain they don’t have the financial resources to pay incentives to employees. How can the “small guy” compete with larger businesses providing medical benefits, discounts, ski passes and such? It takes creativity but there are answers at a minimal cost.

One of the resounding requests from employees is schedule flexibility — for examplee, a work schedule with flexibility to be home when their child arrives from school, or maybe a morning off to exercise the 20-centimetre rule.

Another huge incentive is to provide opportunities for employees to network in the business world. Courses can add a huge amount to your bottom line, and there are affordable options locally. Perhaps workers would appreciate a computer course to keep on top of that changing world of technology, or a chance to attend Women of Whistler (WOW) meetings so they can network with other business professionals. How ideal that they will also promote your company in the process!

In a book titled How Leaders Build Market Value, the authors discovered that 50 per cent of the market value of a company is determined by “intangibles,” or the non-financials. This means that there is a direct connection between how a company treats its people and its culture and that is what affects the bottom line —in other words, incentives that don’t have huge monetary value.

Cathy Goddard is principal of Lighthouse Visionary Strategies (www.lighthousevisionary.com), which offers business consulting, workshop and meeting facilitation and speaking services. She can be reached at cathy@lighthousevisionary.com or (604) 905-8660.