Benefits and Perks All Employers Should Consider Providing to Employees

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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. 

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