Employee Benefits Packages You Should Be Considering

Employees enjoy many perks in the workplace nowadays. It’s been a long time since the only thing you had to offer your employees was a good salary and a working desk. They’ve fought for their rights and achieved a lot. In return, this made them more productive and the businesses – more successful.

Still, with the competition growing all the time, it’s become a real challenge for businesses to attract – and retain their talent. This applies even more to workers that are highly qualified. Companies all around the world are fighting to get the best workers, showering them with great perks that go beyond a high salary or good health insurance.

In September of 2021, a record of 4.4 million people quit their job and started searching for a better position or better work conditions. The pandemic put an even bigger accent on the importance of good health insurance as well as packages that include paid time off and remote work options.

That being said, if you want to succeed and thrive in this market, as well as find and retain the most talented professionals, we urge you to strongly reconsider your employee benefits packages. In this article, you’ll learn what attracts the highly-engaged employees of today.

Why you need good employee benefits packages

Good employee benefits packages today do a lot more than provide good health insurance or a paid vacation. Businesses that offer great packages reap a great set of rewards. Staying updated with the latest employee benefits trends is crucial for businesses to remain competitive and attract top talent. As the workforce evolves, offering a comprehensive benefits package that meets employees’ changing needs can significantly boost morale and productivity.

A quality employee benefits package will do the following for your business:

• Attract the best employees. The job market is extremely competitive these days, so you need to offer plenty of perks to get the best employees. Perks and benefits are now the biggest factors that job seekers consider when they choose a job.
• Keep your employees. Employee retention numbers are low for every company that doesn’t offer perks to their team. Investing in employee benefits can seem costly now, but it’s saving you a fortune, as well as tons of time because it keeps the retention numbers high.
• Save you a lot of money. As an employer, your goal should be to keep employees happy and motivated. If your benefits package makes this a reality, you’ll be saving money thanks to higher employee retention, better and more efficient work, reduced health and welfare consultations, etc.
• Boost engagement and productivity. Happy employees are productive and motivated to work, which can boost the success of your brand in general.

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Things you should have in your employee benefits package

There are plenty of ways to put together good employee benefits packages. These can differ greatly depending on the size of your business, your employees’ tasks, and obligations, your budget, etc. There’s no written formula that works for all or a certain budget that you must spend to achieve all of the above.

Even so, some things must take part of your benefits package if you want it to be great. Let’s take a look at what these include.

Health and wellbeing benefits

Health benefits remain the priority of most workers today. Or, at least, this is still applicable for the older generations down to millennials and Z-gen applicants. Research shows that, for many millennials these days, flexibility in the workplace is more important than high salaries or big health plans.

We’ll discuss flexibility and life-work balance a bit later.

Let’s first focus on what most applicants will ask you when you offer them a job: “What kind of health plan do you have for your team?”

Naturally, employees will expect a certain degree of extended benefits for their health, including things like dental, vision care, health benefits for their children, and even some health perks for their pets.

Some good ideas for health and wellness perks to add to your package are:

• Extended health plans that cover more than just the basics
• Mental health resources
• Healthy food vouchers (alternatively, you can offer them free healthy food in the workplace)
• Workout and fitness perks like a paid gym membership, free yoga classes, etc.

Financial benefits

The salary has a huge effect on the decision of job applicants, as well as the happiness of your current employees. Many people will pick a job with more financial benefits over a job with less, even if they like the latter more. After all, they have expenses they need to cover, and who doesn’t want to earn more?

When we talk about financial benefits today, we don’t just speak of salaries. In addition to the salary, employees expect to see things like:

• Tuition reimbursements
• Resources for financial planning
• Employee rewards
• Employee discount schemes and options
• Retirement contributions
• Paid time-off (in addition to the COVID-19 obligatory quarantine if they get sick)

Benefits for personal and professional development

Any successful business will employ great talent but also invest in their professional as well as personal development. If you want your business to grow, your employees should grow with it.

Employees today want to have the opportunity to grow and progress in the workplace. They appreciate companies that offer them training and options for getting higher on the career ladder. According to a 2017 SHRM study and 48% of HR professionals, training the staff you have in the company is one of the top recruiting strategies.

Some things to add to your employee benefits package today are:

• Funding for classes, courses, and other plans for professional development
• Career counseling
• Programs for personal projects
• Personal counseling
• Free therapy sessions on request
• Events and days for professional development, such as summits

Benefits that promote a work-life balance

Right now, this is the category to put most of your focus on. People prioritize their flexibility these days and are in constant search of a work-life balance. Due to the pandemic, many of them had to adjust to remote work and different types of work. Finding time for everything is tough these days, which is why you need to offer at least some of the following perks:

• Flexible work hours (for example, you can have reduced work hours on selected days, like letting your team go home an hour early on Fridays)
• Different schedules i.e., flexible hours that don’t revolve around the 9-to-5 schedule
• A remote-friendly work environment where your team can sometimes work from home
• Fully-remote opportunities for those that can and want to work entirely out of the office
• Birthdays and special days off
• Extra time for the holidays
• Mental health days
• A free day when they reach a work milestone or complete a project

At the moment, two of these things are a must-have for most companies around the world. People are worried about their health or prefer the flexibility of working at home, so offering them remote opportunities and more flexible work hours should be the first thing you add to your package.

Benefits for employee engagement

This category can have amazing effects on your team’s performance. Ideally, it will make them work harder and better, which is great for your projects and your brand. Here are the things that encourage and motivate employees today:

• Team-building activities
• Days when you work outside of the office
• Initiatives for volunteering
• Employee recognition programs
• Mentorship programs

Out of this list, the thing that you should definitely add to your plan is the employee recognition program. People want to be recognized for their hard work. It makes them feel valued and prompts them to work more – and harder.

This program doesn’t necessarily have to include bonuses or higher salaries or a promotion. It can be anything from a small present to a paid vacation to a public shout-out.

Miscellaneous benefits

Some popular benefits don’t fall into any of the categories above. These are fun and, if you have a busy schedule for your team, it never hurts to give them some opportunities for fun.

Some ideas include adding a pool table to your office or having a fun room where people can go to have an entertaining break. You can also create some weekly traditions for those who want to join, and have a team lunch or grab some drinks after work.

Such benefits will help you build a stronger culture in the office, help you boost the relationships between them and yourself, and attract more people to your company.

Wrapping up

It’s not easy to get the best employees to join your team these days. There will always be a company that will offer them more money, look better, have a better campaign for hiring team members, etc.

Still, for most job seekers today, the benefits program is the biggest factor for choosing a job. If you excel in this area, you can enjoy many perks and get the best people to work with you.

Career Reload Team

We’re a team of writers dedicated to providing insights and tips for navigating the professional world. With a collective wealth of experience across various industries and roles, our team understands the challenges and opportunities that come with seeking meaningful work and advancing your career. We help job seekers to better their careers by offering career advice & free resources. Download free Word resume templates and resume templates for Google Docs.