Their is a shift in workplaces that has been gradually adjusting over the last 30 years. The shift away from the company committed employee, and the cubicle has subsided to give rise to an increase in employee turnover and open workspace layouts. While these shifts are more visible, they hint at a broader change occurring: companies adjusting to new employees and their wants and needs. The consistency and stability craved by previous generations seem to interest the millennial generation less and less. Still, one of the easiest ways to attract high-quality candidates and retain vital employees is through your benefits package. When your competitors are offering similar salaries, distinguishing your benefits can help you stand out amongst your peers. What’s critical in developing a benefits package is understanding what employees are looking for presently in their benefits.
One of the biggest mistakes employers make in their benefits packaging is assuming that improving workplace lifestyle will matter profoundly to their employees. Sometimes companies might spend to buy a pool table or provide free meals or coffee to their employees as a fringe benefit. These benefits, while friendly, ultimately are frivolous to most employees. Worse, it can feel patronizing if your benefits package isn’t already competitive. If you’re employees care about developing a retirement plan, and you try to assuage them with free pizza on the third Friday of every month, you’re only going to alienate people. Remember that ultimately everyone cares and worries most about how they intend economically to support themselves. Make sure you meet your employees’ basic needs before you start to provide fringe benefits.
The Harvard Business Review did a poll of workers nationwide from disparate fields and asked various questions to determine which benefits were most important to workers. The list’s top is not particularly surprising; health care, vacation days, overtime, and bonus pay present practical benefits and are relatively standard for various jobs. However, there are plenty of benefits in the middle of the list that many companies don’t use to help them stand out when hiring. Focusing on assisting employees in paying student loans or providing compensated work training are two primary tools for attracting young employees. Sustained maternity/paternity leave and support for childcare services are similarly significant benefits for new parents. Maybe the best option you can do as a company is to provide a plethora of potential benefits and allow your employees to determine the package that fits their needs best for that year.
It is pivotal to have a competitive advantage when hiring candidates, and benefits packages are the easiest way to attract high-quality potential employees. While companies like google or twitter can afford to spend money on insane fringe benefits like personal chefs, your company probably can not provide the same kind of fringe benefits in food and snacks as a major tech company can. With that in mind, focus less on improving office life, and focus more on ways you can improve your employee’s lives while they are at home.