October 2022
It's a competitive market in the world of employment and recruitment at the moment and the ability to retain and attract staff can be a real challenge. So what does keep staff motivated and engaged and how do you do this?
We recently carried out some research on employee benefits that are currently trending. Take a look at our findings below:
- Flexible Working - This is really current since covid and something many businesses now have in place. There are a couple of aspects to flexible working which is location and hours - it's worth considering whether you offer this as a benefit and if there is flexibility across both location and hours.
- Flexible Annual Leave - Some companies operate an unlimited annual leave policy. You might find it helpful to read the pros and cons - this is a really useful article Unlimited annual leave: the good and the bad | BrightHR. Other things you could consider with annual leave are additional days off over the Christmas period or a day off on an employee's birthday.
- Private Medical Insurance - 88% of people in a survey carried out by Harvard Business Review reported that this would be a factor they would consider when accepting a job. It's worth noting that this can be very costly to employers and is also a taxable benefit for employees. However, it's a very attractive benefit!
- Wellness Packages - Health and wellbeing is a really big topic and there are ways employers can help encourage wellbeing and healthy behaviour in the workplace with:
- hybrid or remote working
- subsidised gym memberships
- promoting mental health awareness
- creating employee recognition programmes
- volunteering or community outreach programmes
- employee assistance helpline if employees feel they could benefit from speaking to a professional
- massages in the workplace
- free or subsidised lunch or healthy snacks in the workplace
- enhanced sickness pay
- Life Insurance - This one can be a popular benefit and is relatively inexpensive for an employer. It's very easy to administer too.
- Learning & Development Budget - Supporting with L&D can lead to higher job satisfaction and motivation but investing in professional development is a benefit to the employer too!
- Employee Discount Schemes - There are a number of providers/options to explore for employee discount schemes which gives offers and % off within retail, leisure or dining. For employees who often find themselves shopping, exercising or eating out, this could be a great perk!
Some companies who offer the top benefits according to Glassdoor include the following:
- An annual, all expenses paid company holiday
- Employee discounts negotiated at local pubs and beauty salons
- Five paid days for volunteering each year
- A Christmas party which includes children of employees
- Discounted wine delivered to employees houses on a monthly basis
- Free food and drink at work
- A Company owned villa abroad which can be booked by employees free of charge
- Unlimited holiday allowance
Some of these benefits might not be suitable for your business but hopefully it gives you an idea of what other companies (although not a direct comparison for your own) are offering. Some benefits you could consider on a slightly smaller scale are:
- Bring your dog to work days
- Mid-day social breaks
- Off-site Company days
- Buying extra annual leave
- Monthly team lunch
- Cinema tickets
- Cycle to work scheme
Different benefits will attract different people, so this is a big factor to consider. A popular option we've come across is putting different benefit packages together and giving employees the option to choose which benefits are more relevant to them - we'll come back with more on this one soon!
If you've been thinking about putting a benefits package together and you're not sure where to start, or you want to review what you currently have in place to see if it's relevant anymore, please do get in touch and we would be happy help!