Turnover is one of the highest costs for companies, so offering employees a competitive benefits package is important. In addition, a healthy benefits package can help you attract and retain top talent and make your company more attractive in a tight labor market. But what kinds of perks do employees want?
7 Perks That Keep Your Employees From Quitting
Health insurance
Health insurance is, unsurprisingly, a perk that keeps many people at their jobs. So it’s less surprising that it’s also a common perk among companies with very liberal policies. Some employers offer to pay for their employees to be insured without asking them whether they want to be insured!
However, health insurance is only helpful if the plan covers what your employees need—which may not always be the case. For example, if you have an employee who doesn’t want coverage for maternity leave but does want coverage for mental health treatment and medication costs (which are often excluded from most plans), then that would be considered discriminatory against women.
Your company should ensure its benefits package is flexible enough to meet everyone’s needs and affordable enough not to break the bank or cause undue strain on other parts of its budget, like salaries or marketing materials.
Free meals
A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that companies with a free dining option were less likely to lose employees than those without one. This is because free food provides an easy way for the company to show its appreciation and encourage employee loyalty. If you want to offer this perk, it’s important to choose healthy options that appeal to your employees’ diverse tastes and circumstances. Additionally, consider whether they need a break during their lunch hour or can get away from their desks without any issue whatsoever (such as going out on a break).
Work-from-home options
We have all heard the stories of employees who have been granted a work-from-home option, and suddenly their performance is better than ever. This could be because they can spend more time with their family or enjoy greater freedom. Whatever the case, it is important to remember that this benefit will not work for everyone.
If you offer remote access options, make sure you are clear on what kind of tasks can be done remotely and how much time is allotted each day/weekend/holiday for working away from the office. It’s also crucial that you provide guidelines so your staff knows exactly how far they can go with this privilege – after all, there are boundaries for a reason!
Time flexibility
Time flexibility is becoming increasingly important to employees as they feel more inclined to make decisions based on their personal needs than the companies. Time flexibility can take many forms, including flexible work hours, vacation time, and leave policies that allow for a “balance” between work and life outside the office. It also includes flexible work arrangements (such as telecommuting), allowing you to give your employees more control over when and where they perform their duties.
One way to demonstrate your commitment to time flexibility is to offer generous benefits such as unlimited PTO, allowing employees to take time off when needed without worrying about accruing and tracking vacation days.
Finally, if you want your employees to feel like they have valued team members—and not just cogs in a machine—you will want to consider providing them some autonomy in terms of attire selection or other personal preferences related to how best harnesses their talents.
Student loan repayment
The average college graduate in the US owes $30,000 in student loans. In addition, they’ll pay an average of $350 per month on those loans for ten years at an interest rate of 7.9%.
It may not sound like much, but that’s nearly $4300 in total debt over a decade! And if you’re paying it back during your twenties (when most people graduate), that’s more than half your monthly income.
Student loan repayment has greatly impacted employee retention rates and performance. It’s a huge burden for anyone, particularly if you’re young and just starting your career. Providing employees with assistance with their student loans can help them feel more secure in their position and remove an obstacle preventing them from being productive at work.
Pet-friendly workplace
Pets can be a great source of stress relief, which can be valuable for your employees—especially if they’re dealing with a lot of stress at work or home. Pets also help with team building, employee morale, and employee retention. You never know when they’ll need to be there for each other (even though you do).
Life insurance
Life insurance is a way to provide for your family if you die, and it’s something that most people don’t think about until it’s too late. But there are ways in which your company (and even you) can help pay for life insurance for your employees:
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- Your company may offer life insurance as part of its benefits package. This is the easiest way for an employee to get coverage on their terms—but it’s also the least appealing option from a financial perspective because you’re paying a large monthly premium and getting little return on your money unless something happens to the employee in question.
- The company could pay all or part of the cost of an individual employee’s life insurance policy through payroll deductions or direct contributions made to an outside provider. This option is more costly than adding the expense to monthly premiums across all employees. Still, it allows employers more flexibility in choosing who gets covered and how much they pay overall each month over time without having to make changes every year when they renew their policies with insurers each year after being elected by default as beneficiaries under someone’s will upon death (which occurs automatically).
Offering competitive benefits and perks is a great way to keep employees happy and engaged and prevent turnover.
Besides the obvious, there are several benefits to offering competitive benefits and perks.
- They can help attract and retain talent
- They can help improve employee morale
- They can help improve employee engagement
- They can help improve employee productivity
- They can help improve employee retention
Conclusion
It’s all about keeping your employees happy. A happy employee will stick around for a long time and perform well in their role—which means you should do everything possible to make them feel appreciated, supported, and valued. The last thing you want is for people to leave because they feel underappreciated or unappreciated by management.
