Today, employers know that the competition is fierce in the
workforce and providing a range of employee benefits in addition to a salary is
one of the best ways to attract and retain the top talent. Many employees are
not just looking for a fulfilling role that will pay them enough to cover their
monthly expenses, but they also want to be able to get extras such as health
insurance and other perks from their place of work.
As an employer, there are lots of advantages to focusing on
offering a range of benefits to employees. For example, with health insurance
benefits, you have the additional advantage of employees who are more likely to
be healthy, translating to fewer sick days and better workplace morale. Along
with this, employees who are getting excellent benefits such as health
insurance through their workplace are more likely to stick around for longer.
Employees who can offer a range of benefits such as health
and other types of insurance, employee assistance programs, retirement plans,
and even discounts on memberships and shopping, are often more competitive in
the employment space. Naturally, a candidate is more likely to choose to apply
to and interview at your company over others if there is more in it for them
should they get the job. And with the job market only getting busier, some of
the most in-demand employee benefits you may want to consider offering include:
Health Insurance
Health insurance is by far one of, if not the most popular employee benefit option
that you can offer. Health, medical, vision and dental insurance plans can be
quite expensive for individuals to purchase on their own. As a result of this,
it's no surprise that employers who offer them as part of a benefits package
are highly sought after. If you are offering a health insurance plan to your
employees, then you are certainly going to be more in-demand as an employer in
comparison with competitors who do not.
Supplemental Health Benefits
Along with health insurance, there are a range of
supplemental benefits that you can also offer to your employees. The cost of
these can be covered by either the employer, the employee, or both.
Supplemental health products can include anything from prescriptions to
vouchers for healthy food or gym memberships and are designed to help make it
easier for your employees to lead healthier lifestyles and ensure that their
health needs are met. Many are designed to provide funds for members to cover
qualifying services and healthcare items that are not covered in their regular
health insurance plan, helping to offset out of pocket health expenses. Head to
Incomm to find out more about health product benefit options.
Disability and Accident Insurance
Many employees will sign up for disability and accident
insurance if it is available through their workplace as they enjoy the
additional peace of mind that comes with knowing they will be financially
covered in the event they develop a disability or are involved in an accident.
When employees are required to take long-term time off work due to this kind of
event, it can be financially stressful if they are not bringing money in. And
no matter how careful we are, there's no guarantee this won't happen.
Disability and accident insurance continues to pay out to employees who have to
take time off work due to being injured or disabled. Not only does this provide
peace of mind for the employee, but also for you as the employer, knowing that
your business is in a better financial position while your employee is able to
rest and recover before returning to work.
Retirement Plans
With an increasing number of people now beginning to start
planning for their retirement earlier in life, it probably comes as no surprise
that a retirement plan is one of the most sought-after employee benefits that
you can offer to your employees. These days, saving for retirement is no easy
task, with the cost of living only growing, and many people are starting to
think about putting money aside for their retirement in their twenties or even
their late teens.
Many people start planning for retirement as soon as they
have graduated from college, so the more help that they can get along the way,
the more money they will have when the time comes for them to retire. Employers
who offer some assistance with planning and saving for retirement tend to be favored by employees
compared to those who do not. A good option is to offer a retirement plan such
as a 401(k) to your employees and contribute to it as an employer to boost
their savings.
Employee Assistance Program
These days, employers know that whatever might be going on
in the personal lives of their employees is likely to have an impact on their
work performance and more. Along with this, it can be beneficial for some
employees to talk to somebody after experiencing something distressing in the
workplace. As an employer, looking after your employees' mental health is
crucial today, and can be the difference between an employee staying with you
for many years or looking to apply elsewhere.
An employee assistance program is a work-based intervention
program designed for employees to be able to reach out to if they require any
help and support with a wide range of personal problems that they might be
experiencing. For example, employees who are experiencing marriage and family
problems, addiction, financial trouble, mental health conditions, and more, can
reach out in confidence to an employee assistance program and get the support
that they need. For employers, having this benefit in place can be very
advantageous as it encourages employees to seek support and help for issues
that might otherwise spill over into the workplace and affect their
performance.
Education
With the cost of getting a college degree or certifications
rising, you may not be surprised to hear that an increasing number of employees
are now actively looking for employers who are willing to help them cover all
or part of the cost of improving their education. Paying for education and
helping your employees improve their qualifications while working for you has
also become easier than ever thanks to a growth in the popularity of online
degree programs, which are done from home and are flexible enough to fit around
full-time work for most professionals.
Instead of your employees getting into student debt, as an
employer you can offer tuition forgiveness programs or tuition funding programs
that make it financially easier for your employees to get the qualifications
they need to boost their career and go further with your company. This is not
only beneficial for employees, but also for employers as it gives you direct
access to a more highly educated workforce. You may want to consider adding
some terms and conditions to the agreement to ensure that you are getting the
most from providing this benefit, such as stipulating that the employee
continues to work for you for a certain number of years after getting the
college degree in order to benefit from you funding the tuition.
Flexible Spending Account
A flexible spending account or flexible spending arrangement
is an account that employees can pay money into for out-of-pocket healthcare
costs that are not included as standard in their healthcare insurance coverage.
Any money that employees pay into this account is tax-free, which allows them
to save more towards covering the cost of any out-of-pocket healthcare expenses
that they may be faced with in the future. While it's not a requirement to do
so, some employers may want to consider making contributions on top of whatever
the employee pays in.
Lifestyle Benefits
While the bigger and more important benefits like health
insurance and retirement plans tend to be the most talked about, the truth is
that there is also a range of smaller lifestyle benefits that you may want to
consider offering to your workforce. Lifestyle benefits are a great way to make
your employees' lives easier and give them access to things that they may not
have been able to get otherwise. For example, some companies run a car scheme
that allows their employees to access cut-price car financing through the
workplace. Discounted local gym memberships, for example, can be a good option
for employees who are interested in staying fit and healthy. Along with this,
there are various online employee benefits and perks programs you can offer
that allow your employees to get access to exclusive discounts when shopping
online for a wide range of products and services.
As an employer, keeping your employees satisfied at work is
crucial. Along with offering a competitive salary and providing a good
workplace environment, one of the best ways to improve satisfaction is to offer
a range of in-demand employee benefits and perks. Not only are these beneficial
for employees, but they also have a lot of advantages for employers leading to
attracting and retaining more talent, better work satisfaction, increased
productivity, less sick days and more.