This year, 62% of businesses have changed their employee benefits packages.Companies know that if they don’t keep up with the changing times, the top talent they wish to onboard will look elsewhere to find the things they want.
Money isn’t the only item that keeps employees satisfied in the workplace. In fact, a survey conducted by Forbes Advisorfound that 1 in 10 employees would be willing to take a cut to their pay to gain access to better benefits; but what do these employees want if it isn’t all about the money?
What Benefits Do Employees Want Most?
There are many factors that determine what types of benefits your employees are looking for. One thing that comes into play is age.
The same survey found that more than 80% of workers over the age of 42 have concerns about their health benefits and want their employer to offer a robust healthcare package that keeps them covered as they get older, and almost half of that same age bracket are looking for mandatory paid time off (PTO).
Employees on the younger end (18 to 42) are more likely to be looking for pet insurance—more than 30% of them!
What Are the Top 5 Benefits?
Across the board, the items listed below seem to be in most workers’ benefits packages and at the top of the list when it comes to importance:
- Employer Covered Health Care
- Life Insurance
- Flexible Working Hours & Mandatory Paid Time-Off
- Pension & Retirement Plans
- Wellness Packages or Mental Health Assistance
Other items that currently rank high in importance include further job development and training, a solid work/life balance, a positive working environment, subsidized food and drinks, childcare options, commuter benefits, flexible annual leave, and micromobility options.
Determine Which Benefits Your Company Needs to Offer
There are some benefits the law requires you to offer, so the first step is to make sure you’re providing these items for your employees.
Federal, state, city, and even county laws have things to say about what you’re legally required to provide for your employees.
Your best bet here is to get legal counsel to make sure you’re following these laws, especially when it comes to full-time employees, health insurance, paid sick leave, paid family leave, and the necessary contributions you need to make to their unemployment insurance and social security.
Determine Which Benefits Your Company Should Offer
Once the obligatory items are taken care of, this is the point where you can get creative and make your company stand out from the crowd. What you choose to put in your company’s employee benefits package can secure or deter the top talent you want to onboard.
Luckily, you have the perfect data pool to survey at your fingertips! You can also get help or advice with enhancing your benefits package.
1. Make Sure What You’re Offering What Employees Want
Ask your top employees what they like about the current benefits package, what they would add, and what they would change.
With this information, you can best determine a course of action. Take some time to analyze the information you’ve gathered so steps can be taken to improve and shape what your revised benefits package offers.
Do note that employee benefits are one of the things that contribute most to job satisfaction.
Now, take the necessary steps to ensure your offerings are buttressing loyalty and consistently contributing to the happiness of your workers.
2. Offer a Creative Benefit That Supports Company Loyalty
If you own a chocolate factory, your workers better be getting some sweet treats. Johnny Walker gives its employees bottles of whiskey!
Psychologically this cements the people who are making your product to the product itself. It both familiarizes them with what they’re creating and keeps it close to them, instilling a sense of pride—“This is what I make!”
Ben & Jerry’s gives its employees three pints of ice cream each day!
Take a page from these masters of business and find something that further unites your employees with their work.
3. Make the Workplace Inviting
Take some more advice from Ben & Jerry’s and make your office or work environment conducive to positive mental and physical well-being.
Ben & Jerry’s put a tree house and a slide in their offices, and they say that both are used quite often!
A choice of working zones, standing desks, cereal and juice bars, ergonomic chairs, a mid-day yoga class, or running onsite health days can make a huge difference to the satisfaction of your employees.
Patagonia gives its workers onsite yoga, volleyball courts, and bikes to use. They are even encouraged to surf in the middle of the day, and reception posts current surf reports.
You could start a Bring Your Instrument to Work Day, have jam sessions, or even get a company band going.
Interesting job benefits matter!
Try to offer your staff perks that align with your industry and brand—something that resonates with your workforce—and this can turn into a truly unique selling point when it comes time to discuss a potential hire’s benefits package.
4. Assess and Compare Your Benefits Budget
The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated in June of 2023 in their “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation” that US employers were spending an average of $13.39/hour working on benefit costs.
The BLS further dissects this information by geography, the size of a business, the type of industry, and the benefits themselves, so you can determine what your benefits package is costing you and compare it to the current average.
If you find you’re overspending and want help controlling the cost of your benefits, reshaping it to modernize the options, make it more exciting and inviting to prospective hires, and better fit your budget, Edenred can help. Our Lifestyle Spending Accounts offers your employees to participate in wellness programs as well as increase productivity, morale, and loyalty to the company. Schedule a meeting today to learn more.
