In today’s competitive job market, attracting the best candidates requires more than just an enticing job description and salary. Offering the right employee benefits package can help you stand out from your competitors who may be looking to fill similar positions.
What is a benefits package?
A well-crafted benefits package goes beyond the base salary. It is made up of non-monetary perks such as pension contributions, professional development opportunities, paid leave, workplace culture and social events and activities. Offering these perks shows your employees that you’re committed to their welfare and creates a sense of job security.
When putting your package together, think about what your team values and make sure you include these things. This will help you attract new employees and retain your existing ones.
By tailoring benefits to individual requirements, employers can foster a sense of inclusivity and demonstrate that they value their employees' unique circumstances. If you’re unsure of what your employees’ needs are, use surveys, open discussions or focus groups to find out. It’s better to find out exactly what they want instead of offering them benefits they either don’t need or value.
What should a benefits package include?
Private healthcare and insurance
Private healthcare and health insurance are really common employee benefits. These benefits will improve your employees’ quality of life and provide them with a safety blanket when it comes to their health. People are more engaged and productive when they don’t have to worry about things like this.
Some companies also offer dental care, eye care and life insurance, which are all valuable investments. If you want to go a step further, consider providing mental health support or private therapy to your benefits package.
Health and wellness packages
Including wellness programs in your benefits package shows that you advocate for your employees’ health and fitness. Including wellness in your benefits strategy will have a positive effect on employee morale. If people feel relaxed and healthy, they’re more likely to be happy and productive. A lot of companies include free or discounted gym memberships in their benefits package. Other wellness benefits include stress management education, having free and readily available healthy food and drinks in the office and creating a fun space at work for employees to unwind.
Flexibility
With the rise of remote work, offering flexibility is more important than ever. Where possible, companies should consider offering remote work options and flexible working hours. Not only will this attract a bigger talent pool but it also promotes work-life balance by showing candidates that you’re willing to cater to their needs and commitments.
Offering remote working is a great way to attract top talent when hiring for a new position as you’ll open your doors to candidates that may not live within a commutable distance of your office. This will also give your team the opportunity to work from abroad if they want to go traveling or visit family for longer periods of time.
Personal and professional growth
Progression isn’t just about promotions. By supporting your employees’ professional and personal development, you’re showing them that you’re invested in them and see them staying in your company long-term. When people feel like their employer has invested in them, they’re more likely to invest back into the company. You can offer this to your employees by including tuition assistance, online learning, courses or training into your benefits package.
Companies may get nervous about employees leaving once their education is complete, thinking that they won’t get to reap the benefits of their investment. In order to avoid this, some companies require employees to stay with the company for a certain number of years after they’ve finished their degree.
A generous Paid Time Off policy
Going beyond the statutory annual leave entitlement shows that you recognise the importance of recharging and promoting a healthy work-life balance. This can be done by including more paid holiday, parental leave or sick days in your employee benefits package. If paid bank holidays off are one of your company perks, consider introducing a flexible bank holiday policy. This allows staff to swap the government-set bank holiday for a day off that’s more convenient for them, such as to celebrate a religious holiday. Companies may also choose to offer their staff more annual leave than is legally required. Employers often do this by rewarding employees with an extra holiday day for every year they have worked for the company. There has also been a rise in the popularity of unlimited paid holiday schemes in recent years. Introducing an unlimited paid holiday policy can incentivise employees to get things done so that they can maximise their time out of the office.
Financial security
Although all employers must offer their employees a workplace pension scheme by law, companies can go the extra mile by offering their team a more generous pension scheme. This shows that you’re thinking about the long-term and will foster loyalty from your employees. Most companies have pension schemes that scale with your income and time spent in your job. Providing a better pension scheme will incentivise employees to stay with the company for longer and give them reassurance that they’ll be able to retire comfortably in the future.
Now you know how, creating a competitive benefits package should be a key part of your hiring strategy. When you develop your benefits package, you’ll realise there’s no one size fits all solution. Tailor the package to suit your employees’ priorities and needs by having open discussions with them about what they’d like to see in their package.
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