Fortune magazine reported that among its “100 Best Companies to Work For,” there is a strong link between employers of choice and companies that see tremendous profits. How does a company become an employer of choice? And, why would intentionally creating a company culture that people want to work in lead to significant increases in business income? Companies are realizing that employees feel valued when they’re given perks in addition to their paychecks, and they’re understanding that competitive markets almost demand offering these incentives. Small and medium business are coming to know that enticing new hires, and continuously courting current employees, with benefits as small as free catered lunches and as extravagant as business incentive cruises for employees is what it takes to retain talent in many of today’s industries.

Companies that nurture the employer-employee connection, and make it a strong part of their company culture on a consistent basis, are roughly 44% more likely to see above-average profits than business who don’t embrace the practice, say the authors of Values Shift: The New Work Ethic and What it Means for Businesses. First, Break All the Rules, another book focusing on creating company culture reverberates this theory, offering that highly engaged workers generate about 29% more revenue on average and they’re 50% more likely to offer “above-average” loyalty to their employers.

A carefully crafted benefits package that includes “hidden” pay bonuses, such as company cruises, can be more worthwhile than a bigger salary to employees who might never have the time otherwise to travel. And, these types of perks in lieu of pay can actually save a company money, considering there are discounts that can be had on group travel packages.

The following are a few of the ways that you, as a business owner or executive, can build cruises into incentive packages for your employees and boost morale within your company:

Sales Incentive Cruises

Consider creating a positive and rewarding company culture, and increasing productivity and performance, through a business cruise specifically for your sales team. This can be a periodic training and strategy session cruise, or it might be an “ultimate prize” cruise for individuals or sales teams who break records or come out on top of company goals.

Cruises for Product Launches

If you want a wild way to announce your product launch to your top execs and sales people, consider doing it on a luxury cruise vacation. You’ll be able to show team that you value the part they’ll play in your company as it extends its product line, and you can build excitement for the new endeavor over a few days or a week of talking business in a festive setting.

Employee Appreciation Cruises

If you have key members of your team that work day and night, and are absolutely invaluable to your company, consider sending them on an employee appreciation cruise. Book a block of rooms on a ship heading somewhere amazing, and gather your group for a purely social affair. Or, send them off on their own, letting them know you’re grateful for their hard work and want to contribute to their personal well being.

Executive Retreat Cruises

Executive retreats on cruise ships are great opportunities for conducting team-building exercises, holding power meetings with C-suite execs, and compensating major role players in a special way. Offering a unique atmosphere for total relaxation (which can lead to sharper thinking and brainstorming), while keeping executives relatively contained in one place, can facilitate all kinds of amazing ideas and business solutions.

Companies that motivate and reward their employees with business cruises can build morale by offering a bit of excitement and relaxation as part of a work experience. If you want to give your employees unique opportunities to work in a fresh space or to rejuvenate so they can be more productive afterward, BlueOrange Travel can help. We’ve organized business motivation and incentive cruises for years, and we have many partners in the cruise industry (as well as tour partners that can provide outstanding land tour add-on opportunities to cruises) that we work with to create customized cruises for businesses. BlueOrange Travel arranges cruises based on clients’ individual preferences, needs, and budgets – and we have access to a range of cruise ship options like small ships, yachts, medium-sized cruise vessels, and large luxury ocean liners.

Call BlueOrange Travel today to get more information on business cruises or to book your next business venture at sea.