One single arrangement of flowers can go through multiple hands: the designer who arranges it and the assistant who rings it up. The owner who inspects the final look and then the driver who delivers it. Each staff member contributes to delivering beautiful arrangements to customers’ doors. What should be done to share tips among floral staff?
You may find it difficult to share tips as a florist shop owner. This is because COVID has changed the normal operation of floral shops. There may be changes in the hours of staff, floral requirements and staff. Contactless delivery is now faster than ever before.
Customers are also showing support for small businesses by tipping more during the pandemic. This is a great gesture but it also complicates the tipping system.
It’s time to rethink how you share tips with your staff, given all the new factors. Let’s look at the best ways to pass on tips and key points to remember.
Share tips
The driver was the one who received the most tips for delivery in the past. This was understandable as a floral driver would usually own his/her vehicle and have to pay gas. It might be more fair to split tips differently nowadays, especially if your driver earns more than your designers. Rethink tip sharing to ensure that all staff, including drivers and assistants, share the extra income.
Tips for staff (including the owner)
You can share tips by dividing them equally between staff members. As long as the owner of the floral shop is also an employee, he/she can be included. This arrangement is great if your employees work roughly the same hours. This is especially true in small businesses that have a few employees who are invested in the success of the company.
Based on how much time you worked, these tips can be shared.
Another way to split tips is to calculate how much time each employee worked. This is a fair way of splitting tips if you have employees who work part-time or full-time.
You might also consider giving tips to your staff once a year as an incentive. It might be worth asking your staff how they would like to receive tips. For example, you can withhold tips but pay in December during holiday season.
Tips sharing
You should consider these key points, regardless of how you choose to share tips. It is important to comply with all labour and tax laws pertaining to tips. These laws require prior organization. Talk to your staff about how tips will be shared.
Give your driver a gas stipend.
You might consider offering your driver a gas tip if you are willing to split tips among staff members. You might be used to your driver receiving all the delivery tips. Offering a gas stipend could help offset these expenses.
It is important to review the labour laws depending on where your business is located. If there are employees, some states prohibit tip sharing with the owner of the business. This restriction is not applicable to employees and business owners. To ensure you are following the law, it is a good idea to consult your lawyer.
Discuss with your accountant how to report and what tax tips you should use.
It is important to report tips as income whenever you collect them. Your accountant should be consulted if you are going to share tips with staff. The tips that Flower delivery Alexandria receives will depend on the business status.