Competitive pay and good company benefits factor into a potential candidate’s decision to join and an employee’s decision to stay in a company. However, many employers overlook the significance of catering to needs and desires that are more important than a paycheck. Companies could lose skilled and experienced employees to their competitors and left with a high turnover rate simply by failing to address those needs, even if the salary is identical.
Employee Benefits Can Attract and Retain Talents
Workplace benefits really do matter when it comes to attracting new talents, retaining your best employees and setting your company apart from competitors. According to a report, 71% of employees said a benefits package offering is extremely or very important to their job satisfaction, and 60% of employees expressed that it is extremely or very important to their employer loyalty.
Beyond The Basic Company Benefits
Your standard employee benefits package that consists of health insurance, retirement plans, paid annual leaves and competitive salary is now considered, especially by younger employees, well, very basic.
Different employees, different prioritiesー your Baby Boomer and Millennial employees are looking for very different things. As employee’s desires and demands evolve throughout the years, , employers have to understand and address those needs when designing their employee benefits packages in order to retain experienced employees and attract skilled talents.
Employees must feel respected and that their employers not only respect them but will provide them with the right resources to excel in both their professional and personal lives. A top-scoring employee benefits package should be comprehensive, covering various aspects of the employees’ life, including their mental and physical welling. Read on and see how you can retain and attract talents with these 8 employee benefits that will set your company apart from your competitors.
7 Employee Benefits to Attract and Retain Talents
- Support continual learning and development with education benefits
- Phased retirement programme to help employees gradually ease into retirement
- Provide wellness resources to promote physical wellbeing
- Employee stock ownership plan
- Support working parents with employer-sponsored childcare
- Allow flexibility in work arrangements
- Expand your company’s paid and unpaid leave policies
1. Support continual learning and development with education benefits
By providing education benefits as part of your company’s benefits package, you are showing your employees that you are willing to invest in their future and care about their personal and career development. Global fast-food franchises in the U.S. have started offering scholarships for their part-time and full-time employees and found that it does wonders to staff retention as well as building a positive brand image. Alternatively, you can offer employees access to online courses to upskill themselves throughout the year; there is an increasing number of platforms available, offering practical courses from well-renowned universities around the world.
2. Phased retirement programme to help employees gradually ease into retirement
Retirement can cause stress to both the employee and the employer. The company has to find a replacement for the job and the employee has to experience the transition from full-time work to full-time retirement. Instead of snapping out of their jobs overnight, phased retirement programs make the transition easier for both the employer and employee.
It allows employees who are approaching their retirement age to phase out slowly by gradually reducing their hours, switching from full-time work to part-time work. Industries in which knowledge and experience are crucial can benefit from phased retirement arrangements by allowing the retiree to mentor their replacement and pass on relevant skills and knowledge they have accumulated over the years. Workplace mentorship is considered an important factor in attracting and retaining staff as it provides opportunities to grow and bridge gaps for newly-onboard employees. Not only does it provide valuable training to the new employee, companies which are faced by talent shortages are also given more time to search for suitable replacements.
3. Provide wellness resources to promote physical wellbeing
Corporate wellness is key to business success. Employers are now expanding their standard medical care plans to cover personal health screenings, dental and vision care. More and more offices are fitted with standing desks and ergonomic furniture and stocking their pantry with healthy snacks and beverages to care for their employees’ physical health. On-site or off-site fitness programs such as yoga and meditation classes are also becoming more common. To support a healthy lifestyle, some companies allow employees to reimburse expenses spent on fitness equipment and health supplements or even provide discounted or free gym memberships.
4. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
Employee stock ownership plans are often used as an incentive to retain employees and attract qualified talents. Different companies have different practices. Some plans are included as part of the employee benefits package for senior executives as a way to retain experienced workers. Others allow qualified employees to own more stock gradually corresponding to their employment duration. ESOPs allow employees to become beneficial owners of the stock in the company they work for. As the employees themselves are shareholders, they are incentivised to do what’s best for the company, thus, tend to improve organisational performance. Employees are motivated and more likely to take those extra steps to maximise performance and profit from little things like saving electricity costs by switching off lights after work to providing excellent customer service and driving up-sellings or cross-sellings.
5. Support working parents with employer-sponsored childcare
To retain their best talents, employers are becoming increasingly aware of the work-life integration of their employees. That means cultivating a supportive environment where employees can make not only a living but also a life. Employer-sponsored childcare is seen as a competitive employee benefit for many working parents who find it difficult to juggle between work and family, especially those who are in a dilemma of deciding whether to give up their job to raise a child. Employers can provide an array of options that fit their company structure and budget from on-site or near-site child care to child care sponsorships and tuition benefits.
6. Allow flexibility in work arrangements
The strict nine-to-five workday is clearly outdated and it won’t attract or retain top talents for employers these days. That is why companies across all industries are offering flexible work options. Some MNCs allow their employees to work from home up to 5 days a month or choose their own start and end time as long as they complete the stipulated hours. Businesses that are more flexible in nature are offering full and permanent flexibility to their employees to work from anywhere, anytime.
Job seekers perceive flexible workday as an attractive employee benefit. Working parents can plan their work around their kid’s schedules. Night owls, morning larks and “afternoon person” can work at their most productive hours. The time normally spent on commuting can be better utilised. Not only does this arrangement boost productivity, but it also allows a level of trust to build between employer and employees and foster better work-life integration.
7. Expand your company’s paid and unpaid leave policies
Most company benefits packages include paid annual leaves, maternity leaves and sick leave. A growing number of employers are exploring options and expanding their offerings to support their needs outside of work, granting various life-events related leaves, paid or unpaid. For example, paid paternity leave is getting more common, encouraging male employees to fulfil their responsibilities as a father. Other types of paid leave include marriage leave, volunteer leave, adoption leave, birthday leave, study leave, compassionate leave, and many more. Some companies also offer sabbatical leave programs in which employees can take a break from their job for a few months or even up to a full year as a way to care for their employees’ wellbeing and reward loyal employees for their years of service.
At Links International, we are committed to finding and retaining the best talents for our partners. Our years of experience in recruitment and employer branding have also given us valuable insights into what top talents in the market are looking for. Stop losing your best employees to competitors and attract the best people out there by partnering with us today. Or learn more about people management and other management strategies with Links’ Management Insights.