'Best boss in UK' explains why he rewards staff with holidays to Maldives and Rolex watches for Christmas
You might be buzzing if your boss lets you finish an hour early on your last shift before Christmas, or maybe just made up with the bottle of fizz they bought you from the supermarket.
But imagine how you’d feel if they spent thousands on you as a festive treat.
Well, get a load of this. The ‘best boss in the UK’ has explained why he rewards staff with holidays to the Maldives and Rolex watches for Christmas.
Benjy Leslie is the CEO and founder of Connect Management, the largest social-first talent agency in the country.
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Always having believed in treating staff well means they have more motivation to crack on with work, the 25-year-old takes them on all kinds of getaways like trips to Disneyland Paris.
And for his ‘Santa Leslie initiative’ he spent £20k on gifts with the team member making the highest revenue that day getting to pick out a present.
Gifts for that ranged from Celebrations and Lego to headphones and a Rolex.
Leslie reckons it’s all ’worth it’ to have happy staff and a positive work environment.
The Londoner says: "I love giving back. Business owners sit on huge amounts of profit.
"For me it's about sharing my gratitude. I have got a really happy work force - with 89 per cent staff retention.
"We wouldn't have profits if the staff were not happy."
Back in 2019, the lad quit his advertising job and set up his business a year later and achieving success, he wanted to share that with his team.
He said: "I took them all to the Maldives for the first year of the business doing well."
Expecting his influencers to make a whopping £18 million this year, the CEO is able to give back lots of different incentives.
Leslie gives away a holiday every month with a ‘tombola’, which gives his staff ‘that buzz and excitement'.
"The more revenue they deliver to the business the bigger slice of the pie you get,” he adds.
With the chance to win every day this Christmas, he already has his staff coming into the office daily because he believes working from home is ‘lonely’ and ‘less productive’.
So, Leslie apparently creates a fun office environment and makes someone bring in a game to play each morning.
He said: "They bring a game and that brings the energy in the morning.
"On a Friday afternoon we do gratitude. Each person has to say something to someone that they are grateful for.
"It's just a reminder - it's such a fast-paced world we live in and people need to be shown thanks."
Leslie took his staff to Disneyland Paris for this year’s Christmas trip as a ‘thank you for everything’.
But he does ‘expect a lot’ from his staff, who he describes as a ‘super amazing team’.
"A lot of work places people resent their bosses and come in and do the bare minimum. I don't feel we have that. You can't buy that loyalty from staff,” he added.
"You can only earn it by being genuine.
"We do expect a lot, but we hire the right people. If I treat people well, they will work harder for me."
Jess Battison