Employee perks have become an important component of any competitive pay package. Benefits and incentives, which range from legally mandated insurance to free snacks, can play a significant influence in attracting and retaining top employees.
Whether you like it or not, many of your workers work approximately half of their waking hours during the week. It may even be a majority for some.
Employers who are focused on employee retention are aware of the stress this might create and strive to make their employees’ experience as gratifying as possible. After all, a happy team does more work, is more creative, and has lower turnover.
What’s one strategy to keep your staff — and your company — engaged? Keep up with the most prevalent company-provided bonuses and rewards to improve their overall job happiness.
Furthermore, what you give in addition to a pay can go a long way toward assisting your recruitment efforts. The appropriate mix of extras can mean the difference between your best applicants joining your team and a competitor joining yours.
If there are any perks and advantages on these lists that you don’t already offer, including them will likely raise employee morale and keep them working for you rather than going to the competition.
Common Benefits for Employees
Benefits are a type of remuneration that covers fundamental necessities. The phrases perks and benefits are sometimes used interchangeably, but for our purposes, benefits are normally a form of non-cash compensation that covers basic needs. Employees would have to pay for them on their own if the employer did not provide them.
Health Benefits – After a salary, many job candidates prioritize this essential perk, which often includes medical coverage for employees and their families. With the pandemic wreaking havoc on so many lives in 2020, it’ll only become more important.
Retirement Benefits – Employees might be encouraged to save for retirement by participating in a tax-advantaged plan. Offering to match employee contributions up to a specific level is a significant positive in employees’ eyes and can motivate them to stay with your company.
Life Insurance – Life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment insurance (AD&D) are important to employees looking to plan ahead and feel some reassurance in protecting their families.
Paid Time Off – Personal time off (PTO) is highly regarded by employees and a fantastic strategy to fight burnout, whether it’s for vacation, illness, or bereavement. For new recruits, two weeks is common, but three or more weeks of PTO can be difficult to pass up for many prospects.
Common Perks for Employees
Perks are nice-to-have extras to an employee’s wage and benefits package, as in perquisites or corporate offerings. Perks are above-and-beyond benefits that may influence an employee’s decision to choose one employer over another. Consider them icing on the cake.
Employee Discounts – We’re not talking about a 3% discount at the neighborhood coffee shop (though that’s not terrible either). Employees, on the other hand, enjoy receiving company-exclusive discounts on large-ticket purchases such as automobiles and homes, as well as cellphones and home security systems.
Flexible Work Schedules – Within reason, an increasing number of organizations are allowing employees to pick their own schedule. This usually entails a reduced workweek or flextime, in which employees can work from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. rather than 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. More firms have begun to promote windowed work this year, which entails dividing down the workday into distinct pieces of time in order to better manage professional and personal obligations.
Remote Work Options – Working remotely has become the norm for many organizations as a result of COVID-19, and employees have expressed a desire for this trend to continue beyond the pandemic.
A solid benefits and incentives package is critical for keeping your best people around — and getting more top talent to join your team — as professionals increasingly look beyond compensation as the key measure of who they want to work with. Keep up with the most frequent employment perks and incentives to avoid losing your finest employees.
