Competition is tough, especially when it comes to the recruitment and retention of employees. As a business, it’s important to ensure that your entire package is attractive and that encompasses salary, reward, training & development opportunities, company culture and perks. Nowadays, it’s not just the salary a potential employee will take into account, it’s the overall package and millennials especially are seeking out these types of differentiators to make their decision on employment. So what do we deem to be the top 10 work perks and what are the advantages to you as a company?
1. FLEXIBLE WORKING
We’ve talked extensively about flexible working in previous blogs and this has been noted in recent research by Totaljobs to be the most important perk to any potential employee (59% of respondents) and also current employees to ensure they stick with your company. Work isn’t a place to go, it’s something we do and so many employees are looking for flexible hours, differing from the old-fashioned 9-5 from flexible locations including remote working.
Employers who offer a flexible working policy, even though it can be a daunting to implement can reap the reward too. Employees feel empowered, trusted and they can fit their work around their busy lives. It’s a win-win from both sides. It can help to reduce absenteeism, sickness and stress and can enhance productivity, motivation, innovation and loyalty. This leads to better retention of current staff and improved recruitment of potential employees.
2. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Another subject we’ve detailed recently, learning and development is extremely important to your employees. Do you have a training and development strategy in place to help coach your staff and improve on their current skillset. It’s very rare that any employee will want to stay static in the workplace and so offering learning and so a business which is willing to invest in both their professional and personal development is an attractive one, one which will stand-out from the competition. Employees like to be able to understand their career path and learning and development programs are a fantastic way to hold on to people you’ve invested in.
3. BONUSES
A basic salary is just the start, but what if your employees are consistently hitting target and smashing their KPI’s? What if your business is going from strength-to-strength because of the hard work? This shouldn’t go unnoticed and is great motivator for employees to ensure they are as productive as possible. We all like a goal to work towards and this goal needs a reward. One of our previous blogs covered different rewards suitable to recognise excellent work and this could include remuneration, vouchers, certificates and gifts – The list goes on….
4. PENSION
We work for a lot of our life and although not everyone thinks too seriously towards the future, a pension is imperative so we can all enjoy the fruits of our hard work when that time comes. There are standard pension packages which you must offer by law, or you could go a step further and offer an enhanced pension package.
5. MATERNITY PACKAGES
The statutory maternity package is pretty dismal. At a meagre 90% of earnings for the first six weeks and then £148.68 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks, it’s really quite impossible to live off. However, some employees offers some fantastic maternity packages and this is a real bonus to any female (or male employee if you also offer paternity leave) employee. Paying more than the statutory maternity pay or allowing new dads an extra week off can be more appreciated and valued than you realise and will show prospective employees that you care about their work-life balance.
HOLIDAY ALLOWANCE
As stated previously, we spend a lot of our time at work and so holiday is hugely important when it comes to de-stressing, spending time with the family and recharging their batteries to ensure they come back to work firing from all cylinders. Some larger companies such as LinkedIn have really pushed the boundaries by offering their employees unlimited holiday which is a very brave move. This isn’t particularly realistic for most companies, but it’s important to think about what you can offer, whether it’s Christmas shutdown, a day of for a birthday or an extra days holiday for each year someone remains at your company. There are lots of ways to increase holidays for your employees, it’s about being inventive and listening to what they want.
GYM MEMBERSHIPS
Promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing for your employees is essential, especially in this day and age. Exercise is a fantastic way to let off steam and de-stress and if you’re sitting down all day, exercise is particularly important. It may be you have the facilities on-site or you pay for your employees to join a local gym, or at the very least arrange a discounted price.
FOOD
Many companies offers free breakfasts or lunch or healthy snacks and fruit throughout the day. Healthy eating is great for the mind and body and so it’s important to encourage this as part of your wellbeing program. Providing ‘brain food’ is a great way of keeping your employees energised and a good breakfast as we all know makes us all more productive and so this could really benefit your workforce. Healthy eating also wards off illness and so could contribute to a slightly lower sickness rate within the workplace.
SOCIAL EVENTS
Work hard, play (pretty) hard – We all need time to kick-back and enjoy some free-time and an excellent way of supporting this is by offering free social events for your employees. This is also a great way for teammates to get to know one another out of a work situation and promotes well-being, communication, support and fun! It’s a fantastic tool for breaking down barriers and getting to know one another out of the office, which in turn, helps teamwork and communication in the workplace.
With the competitiveness of the job market in 2018 it’s important for employers to think outside the box about what they can offer their new recruits. Of course, some of the work benefits listed above may be more difficult to offer for smaller companies, but it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s not all about the money.
According to research by Canada Life, 85% of employees said that they were more inclined to work for organisations who clearly labelled the benefits of a job in the job advert, with the figure being even higher for workers aged 25 to 34 (94%). It’s clear that work benefits play a huge part in the decision making process for employees, so remember to be transparent about what you can offer when recruiting.
If you would like further guidance on effective ways engage, contact me now on 01453 297557 or email enquiries@peepshr.co.uk.
