If you want your business to attract top talent in today’s job market and retain employees for the long term, one of the most powerful tools at your company’s disposal is competitive employee benefits.
When people evaluate companies and their employee experience, benefits usually rank at the very top of their list of considerations.
Let’s explore what employees expect so that you can stand out from your industry peers and recruit and keep the best.
Moving beyond standard
To really get ahead, companies should consider a shift from only offering the most common benefits – or, at minimum, what’s legally required.
Certain benefits are now viewed by prospective employees as standard, meaning that:
- They assume your company offers them, because they are, in some cases, legally required.
- These benefits won’t be a significant differentiator for your company, as all other companies offer them, too.
- Candidates likely won’t consider your company if they discover you don’t offer these benefits.
“Standard” benefits may include:
- Health, dental and vision insurance
- Retirement savings plan, with a company match
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Paid time off (PTO) – two weeks per year at a minimum, three weeks per year preferred.
The new goal: Competitive employee benefits
Instead, your company may need to offer more to attract peoples’ attention and interest. Job candidates and employees want to know how else your company will make their whole lives – not just their working experience, – easier and better.
“Competitive” benefits are often non-typical offerings that address, at a deeper level, the holistic health and wellbeing of each employee:
- Physical and mental health
- Professional health
- Financial health
- Lifestyle health
These benefit offerings tend to have widespread appeal and come with options that speak to employees at different phases of life. In other words, meet a wide range of people where they are.
If you invest in employees’ wellbeing, your return on investment can include:
- Stronger engagement
- Higher job satisfaction
- Loyalty that results from employees knowing their company cares about them
- A greater sense of personal fulfillment
- Reduced absenteeism
- Lower risk of stress and burnout
- Increased productivity.
So, specifically, what types of benefits are we talking about?
Benefits that foster physical and mental health
How can you improve what your company already offers and get people to take notice – transforming what’s often considered a standard benefit into something that’s really meaningful and stands out?
- Embrace flexibility and provide multiple plan options for employees so they can elect coverage that meets them where they are in life. .
- Offer comprehensive coverage that includes not just basic services, but additional services that make employees’ lives better. For example, some employers are adopting health plans that cover, or at least provide some reimbursement for, reproductive health.
- Evaluate opportunities to lower employees’ out-of-pocket burdens.
- Add health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.
- Provide coverage for mental health care services.
- Incorporate plans with virtual care solutions (telehealth appointments) to give employees time savings and convenience when seeking care.
Additionally, consider providing bereavement leave for the death of a close loved one to support employees’ mental health and wellbeing.
Benefits that improve financial health
Again, it is very common for employers to offer a retirement savings plan. So, what else can your company do to stand out?
- Consider increasing your company’s match.
- Ask your provider if it’s possible to design plans for unique situations and goals.
- Ask your provider about expanding the types of investments that are available.
- Evaluate other retirement-planning tools to deploy alongside traditional retirement plans.
Consider going a step further to improve other areas of an employee’s financial wellness.
- Provide general financial education at no cost or low cost through trusted third-party resources. This could cover anything from monthly budgeting to saving for major life events, from buying a house to sending children to college.
- Reimburse employees’ tuition costs for obtaining higher education or continuing career education while they’re employed at your company.
- Offer student loan repayment.
- Give employees stock options.
- Establish a benevolence program that issues payouts to employees facing financial hardship; for example, following a natural disaster or diagnosis of a major, life-threatening medical condition.
Benefits that enhance professional health and the work environment
Consider increasing the amount of PTO your company offers beyond the standard two to three weeks. Some companies have even started offering unlimited PTO (this is not typically suggested for hourly employees who are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act). You could also establish well-executed training and development programs tailored to each employee’s role and individual career goals.
For employees who travel to an office for any part of their work week, offer commuter benefits. This typically covers reimbursement for parking fees or train and bus passes but may also include gas reimbursement. Your company can also pay for any work-issued mobile devices.
Benefits that boost lifestyle health
Today’s employees prioritize flexibility so they can have a healthy work-life balance. Employees want:
- more time in their day to be with their families and attend to personal matters and interests,
- more autonomy over how and when their work gets done, and
- to save the time and costs associated with commuting.
Therefore, if possible, incorporate flexibility into your workplace, including remote or hybrid work options and flexible scheduling. Employers who allow remote work typically cover at least some costs of setting up a mobile office, such as electronic equipment, Internet and cell phone access and office supplies.
For employees who prioritize community service, companies can offer volunteer PTO.
Additionally, companies can offer employees exclusive discounts on certain products and services, such as gym memberships, meal prep and grocery delivery services and movie tickets. These are perks that help to enrich employees’ lives and deliver convenience, alongside helpful cost savings on desirable goods while inflation is high.
Bringing it all together: Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
EAPs are a great and cost-effective way to offer many of these benefits from a single streamlined source. Often an add-on service from existing benefits providers, EAPs can connect employees with targeted, professional, third-party resources that address a range of needs, such as:
- Physical and mental healthcare
- Financial planning and tax guidance
- Home and family issues
- Substance abuse
- Life skills development
- Legal advice or representation
- Childcare and elder care
- Pet sitters
- Fun and entertainment
- Service providers and home contractors
In this way, EAPs function as a lifestyle concierge.
Especially important for more sensitive issues, employees using EAPs can connect with these resources privately, confidentially and, in some cases, virtually.
Going even more competitive: Family-friendly benefits
Want to really take your benefits offerings to the next level?
Many employees serve in a caregiver role, whether it’s for aging parents, ill family members, children and even beloved pets. In response, savvy companies are finding ways to become not merely more flexible, but also more family friendly, to accommodate evolving employee preferences and needs for family support.
Examples:
- Parental leave (including adoption or foster leave).
- Adoption assistance (reimbursement for at least some of the costs associated with an adoption).
- Child and elder care assistance (flexible spending accounts or company reimbursements to cover these costs).
- Pet insurance to help employees deal with the high costs of veterinary needs and emergencies and Pawternity leave.
Getting started
Wondering where to start with all these optional benefits?
1. Find out what your employees consider important.
This may vary depending on:
- Who comprises your workforce. For example, are most employees younger, are they nearing retirement age, or is there a good mix?
- The market(s) and industry you operate in.
- Your company culture.
Ask your employees directly what they want via:
- Surveys
- Focus groups
- Individual one-on-one meetings
The last thing you want is to spend money on benefits without confirming whether they are meaningful to your employees and will ultimately help your company be more competitive.
With this feedback, you can uncover trends and commonalities and prioritize the top benefits.
2. Perform a benchmarking analysis.
What are most of your industry peers doing?
What’s considered standard versus competitive for your marketplace?
- Look at other companies’ job postings and career websites.
- Ask their HR departments directly.
- Listen to what prospective or new employees tell you about the benefits they enjoyed at their last employer.
Then, identify gaps between the benefits your organization offers compared to others.
3. Consider your company’s needs and goals.
Ask yourself: What are you trying to do with your organization? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years?
Are these benefits aligned with your goals? Will these benefits help you achieve them?
4. Confirm your budget.
It really comes down to this: Which benefits can your company afford to offer?
Which benefits will deliver the most bang for the buck?
What will make your employees most happy and serve your company’s interests most effectively?
5. Publicize your benefits.
Once you’ve selected the optional benefits you want to offer, communicate with employees.
- Notify them in writing.
- Host an orientation for new benefits, including a Q&A session.
- Discuss these more comprehensive benefits in employee onboarding.
- Provide educational materials.
Make sure external audiences are aware of these competitive benefits as well. Include a list of your employee benefits in every job posting and in the career section of your website. To be competitive and boost your recruiting efforts, they need to be seen.
You can also talk about your company’s employee experience, including competitive benefits, on social media channels.
How a professional employer organization (PEO) can help
Building out a competitive employee benefits package on your own can be daunting. A PEO, however, can ease much of the stress. When you work with a full-service PEO, you gain access to existing PEO-sponsored benefits that are comprehensive, high quality and comparable to what the largest Fortune 500 companies offer.
Summing it all up
Competitive employee benefits are more than an investment in your business – they’re an investment in your people, too. When your people feel like you’ve got their back and they’re doing well, your company will enjoy their support and you’ll win, too. Consider adding optional benefits that comprehensively address the physical and mental, financial, professional and lifestyle health of employees, and give your workplace a serious edge in attracting and retaining talent. If you need help, a PEO can provide assistance.
Want to learn more about the benefits that really entice today’s workforce? Download our free magazine: The Insperity guide to offering irresistible employee benefits.