What makes Microsoft, NVIDIA, LinkedIn, Adobe, Delta Air Lines, or Netflix the best place to work?

One of the key factors – they all offer great employee benefits programs.

How to create a super competitive employee benefits plan and make your company a stand-out and lovable workplace?

First, let’s get into why you should care about it, anyway, as an HR manager or business leader.

What Are Employee Benefits Programs and Their Key Advantages?

An employee benefits program is a comprehensive package of perks that employers provide to their workers in addition to salaries.

It becomes critical for the ability of companies to attract top talent during the recruitment process. In fact, 60% of candidates say they strongly consider benefits and perks before accepting a job offer. For 63% of job seekers, an employee benefits package is the second important factor after the salary. Moreover, providing comprehensive benefits such as healthcare coverage, retirement plans, and timely pay stubs can significantly enhance the appeal of a job opportunity.

Moreover, workers who are satisfied with their benefits have a higher level of loyalty to the employer. 71% of them report being very loyal. As you can see, the right benefits can help you retain your “oldies” as well, improving your talent retention rate.

Benefits packages differ from company to company. Let’s take a closer look at the best employee benefits recommended by C-level executives and business founders.

What to Include Into Your Employee Benefits Package

Consider the most desirable perks and incentives to create an efficient employee benefits plan.

1.     Physical and mental healthcare

85% of Millennials consider health insurance an absolutely essential employee benefit.

In some countries, medical coverage is an obligatory requirement for organizations. “Employers should follow healthcare coverage laws and regulations imposed by state and local governments to avoid legal consequences and financial penalties,” says Mark Pierce, CEO of Colorado LLC Attorney.

He gives several examples. In India, for instance, a group medical plan should be available to people employed in the organized sector. As for the USA, businesses with 50+ full-time workers have legal obligations to offer minimal medical coverage to 95% of their staff.

Besides, there’s a legal requirement in the five US states to provide short-term disability insurance plans: New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, New York, and Hawaii.

You may also offer some voluntary insurance types that concern dental services, vision, gender reassignment, pets, or travel accidents, among others.

Then there are some valuable healthcare benefits like as follows:

  • Fitness and nutrition plans
  • Gym memberships
  • Self-care days
  • Yoga and meditation classes
  • Therapeutic massages
  • Telemedicine
  • Mental health assistance
  • Wellness programs, etc.

For example, Deloitte doubled their wellbeing subsidy from $500 to $1,000 and introduced concierge mental health services for their professionals.

2.     Educational assistance

Continuous learning and development at work is one of the basic principles of successful talent management. That’s why organizations try to promote educational programs in the workplace and incorporate them into their employee benefits packages.

Amazon, for instance, invested $1.2 billion in skills training and education programs for workers by 2025. They include employee upskilling courses, certifications, apprenticeships, college tuition funding, and more.

Check out some highly attractive educational incentives below.

●       Courses and developmental programs

Prioritizing training and people development, you may sponsor your employees’ online courses and classes that are related to their jobs or satisfy their personal interest.

Supposedly, you’d like your employees to commit to language learning. You may offer language classes just like Gildan does. The Canadian manufacturer of branded clothing launched French language classes to help immigrant employees communicate more efficiently with their colleagues and better integrate into the team.

●       Tuition reduction

Ford Motors, Starbucks, Bank of America, Pizza Hut, Gap, and Apple are on the list of the top 50 employers with amazing tuition reimbursement programs.

Bank of America, for example, increased tuition assistance for employees to $7,500 per year. Gap fully reimburses tuition for up to two classes related to employees’ careers every term.

●       Employer-sponsored scholarships

Even with a small budget, it’s possible to create a work-sponsored scholarship program.

Carson Lang, Co-Founder and COO of Test Prep Insight, believes that such scholarships give an opportunity to achieve professional goals, boost employee morale, and improve human capital in the workplace. “Such a fund is a great financial support that enables workers to get education they cannot afford themselves. It helps your employees earn the degrees of their dreams and become more successful both in life and career,” he says.

Some of the examples are as follows: Walmart’s Associate Scholarship, McDonald’s USA National Employee Scholarship, Coca-Cola’s Scholars Program, and AISES Google Scholarship.

3.     Employer-assisted housing (EAH)

“With EAH programs, companies can educate employees on homeownership, offer loans to buy first property, or help them find and pay real estate professionals,” notes Andrew Pierce, Founder of Real Estate Holding Company.

“It’s a great employee benefit, as typically, employers cover costs of owning/renting a house in the close proximity to the worksite and make it easier for workers to commute,” Andrew emphasizes.

Such a program allowed Fannie Mae to cut employee turnover from 20% to a single-digit number. It had immense success among workers. Hundreds of them became homeowners, as a result.

4.     Holistic financial wellness plan

According to Jarret Austin, Owner of Bankruptcy Canada, “An employer-driven financial wellness initiative is a go-to method of assisting workers with their financial concerns and problems. It can help them eliminate uncertainty, fight stress, remain on track with their personal finances, and get financially prepared to tackle any challenges in the ever-changing economic landscape of today.”

Jarret Austin shares a list of essential elements to make this employee benefits plan even more substantial:

  • Financial coaching (education on managing finances, taxes, credits, debts, savings, investments, bankruptcy risks, etc.)
  • Personal finance planning
  • Budgeting tools
  • Emergency savings fund
  • Retirement plans

Concerning the latter, 60% of workers cite a pension plan as a major reason they remain at their organization.

The most popular option is a 401(k) retirement savings plan. Employer contributions are a superb way to help workers get their nest egg ready for retirement.

Employees at Boeing, NVIDIA, Adobe, Imgur, or Qualcomm, for instance, have a chance to get enrolled in the 401(k) plans and save more for the future.

5.     Parent support (paid leave and other perks)

New parent support is one of the top solutions for an employee benefits scheme. For example, at Facebook, new parents can get four months of paid leave and “baby cash” in the amount of $4,000.

Cisco is another example of parent-friendly companies that care about their employees’ work-life balance. It has a gender-neutral parental leave policy.

Or let’s take Salesforce.

The company offers personalized parent coaching and family support to help employees navigate their journey. There’s also a whole bunch of other possibilities for parents at Salesforce.

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6.     Work-from-home (WFH) stipends

This is an ideal item for a solid employee benefits package, in case you have remote work positions.

“Offering a dedicated WFH budget to your employees, you give them a vast range of opportunities to create a more convenient and productive workspace at home,” highlights Jeremy Clifford, CEO of RouterCtrl.

“It can cover the cost of IT equipment like modem, router, headset, monitor, keyboard, mouse, video conference backdrop, webcam, and the like. Besides, your employees may purchase more comfortable furniture (desk, chair, workstation, etc.),” he mentions.

Shopify and Google, for example, give a single-time $1,000 WFH budget to their remote staff. At Axios, workers can spend up to $100 per month on home office supplies.

7.     Corporate retreats and team events

Despite being the last on this list, it’s still a significant employee benefit that impacts organizational culture and wellbeing. Company-wide or team events help workers network with their colleagues, promote diversity and inclusion, boost motivation, and enhance collaboration in teams.

Max Wühr, Co-Founder & CGO of FINN, shares his company’s experience of implementing team building events into their employee benefits program:

“Besides a yearly personal development budget, flexible healthcare options, tech gear, and a 401k plan, we also organize numerous team events on a yearly basis.

Our US and German teams engage in corporate retreat activities like FINN parties dedicated to holidays. We also have Sustainable Running Dinners, when teams receive vouchers from an organic market and prepare sustainable delicacies. Our remote people participate via Google Meet, while our US and Munich-based FINNies have sustainable dinners in the offices.

From Friday beers to ski trips – we strive to create an engaging and enjoyable environment for people to find their natural place in our team.”

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Design an Attractive Employee Benefits Plan

Now you’re ready to hire and keep top talent with the most desired employee benefits – powerful attractors and retainers of employees.

Show that you care and make your workers feel appreciated with a comprehensive employee benefits scheme that caters to their wants and needs.

Don’t forget to mention it in your job advertisements and get the best professionals on board with JobConvo.

Your company’s benefits will speak louder than words, trust me.

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