A recent survey of 1,000 office workers by Adler Business Gifts found that 97% of employees expect company perks as part of their employment package. We all know how much recruitment can cost, so retaining your staff is more important than ever. If your business isn’t already offering a benefits package alongside your basic salary, you already have a lot of catching up to do, but where to start? If you’re a small business owner, or a department head with a tight budget, you can’t offer everything, but you can still offer a strong benefits package.
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What Employees Expect
When asked about which employee benefits they expected as a standard from an employer, those surveyed said:
- Flexible working hours (48%)
There are many reasons why nearly half of the employees surveyed named flexible working hours the thing they most want to be offered as standard. A flexible working system allows your employees to maintain a better work/life balance, whether that’s finishing early to pick up the kids from school or working 4 days a week to fit in a part-time course at the local university—employees feel valued when they’re trusted to organise their own time and working hours.
- Pension schemes (44%)
While many employers offer private pension schemes, and in countries like the UK it’s now the law for employers to offer a pension to their staff—it’s not the case everywhere. Young or old, an impressive 44% of employees rate a pension scheme as a vital benefit. The more effort you put in to finding out what staff members want from it to find the best deal for them, the more they’ll see your company as part of their future and stay.
- Matching pension contributions (34%)
One of the major things that employers expect from their pension schemes is that their employees match their pension contributions. Over a third said they expect it as standard, and it makes sense: If employees are going to pay into a pension every month, they want to see their employer doing the same.
- Performance bonuses (34%)
A pension is a long-term investment, but employees also want short-term rewards when they do good work. Performance-related bonuses are a great way to keep morale and productivity high for employees, and they may be easier to justify to your superiors. If you’re not able to offer wage increases, performance bonuses can at least be a short-term option to make sure your staff is satisfied.
- Long service awards (28%)
While a long service award may seem arbitrary, a quarter of those surveyed think it should become the norm for businesses. In the same way as businesses often lure in customers with introductory deals, then later forget about them, employers can be just as guilty. Recognise your staff’s loyalty—they have made a commitment to you and long service awards tells them you are grateful.
What Will Impress Your Employees
While all of the above are a good foundation for a benefits package, employees now expect their places of work to go the extra mile. So, once you have your base benefits, which extra benefits will really make your staff stay motivated and feel valued?
Scalable Benefits
Scalable benefits are a great way of rewarding staff members who have demonstrated their commitment to your business. By increasing benefits such as flexible working hours, the longer a member of your staff has been there, increasing long service awards as time goes on, you show that you trust them and will encourage them to work toward goals.
The Feel-Good Benefits
Feel-good benefits are all the extras that aren’t necessarily related to performance or pay but can be a great morale booster and even help with health and mental well-being. Gym memberships, free breakfasts, and cycle to work schemes are just some of the options. Tailor your feel-good benefits to what your individual staff members want to make sure you’re offering a bespoken benefits package. Your staff will appreciate being part of the decision-making process.
What benefits does your staff expect? Let us know in the comments below.
Sean McMahon is a digital marketing professional who specializes in content on HR and recruitment.