A key part of any modern business is the employee benefits they’re able to provide their staff.
A sophisticated benefits package not only improves employee retention and happiness but also acts as a way of supporting a wider compensation strategy. Over 75% of employees say they’re more likely to stay with an organisation if they offer a quality benefits package, which reinforces its importance.
Unfortunately, it’s also something that’s often overlooked by SMEs, who are usually (and with good reason!) more interested in getting off the ground and scaling effectively, which means more focus is placed on good hiring practices.
In some cases, larger companies also suffer, as it becomes more difficult to understand what needs implementing.
Fundamentally, aside from helping your employees, a good benefits package supports your overall brand. Why take the time to create a strong culture and exceptional reputation with your competitors if you’re not going to do the same with your staff.
With that in mind, we’re exploring why now is the time to start improving employee benefits, regardless of where your organisation is in its journey.
What do we mean by employee benefits?
When we say benefits package, we mean any non-salary compensation that an employee receives during their employment.
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They often differ across various industries and employers, with some organisations choosing to tailor their benefits packages based on specific functions. Take a C-suite employee, for example, who may receive a different benefits package to other employees based on the increased responsibility and qualifications required.
The majority of benefit packages are made up of either non-monetary bonuses such as a company car, flexible working opportunities and extra holidays or additional monetary bonuses based on KPIs.
Why offer an employee benefits package?
In the modern workplace, company culture is paramount. Hiring managers and senior leadership teams are increasingly focused on whether an employee is a good fit for the team, rather than focusing on technical aptitude first.
At the same time, it’s becoming expected that employees receive a certain level of benefits, particularly benefits around flexible working.
If your business doesn’t offer some form of benefit alongside a salary, you’re increasingly going to get lost in a competitive market.
While this doesn’t apply to every industry and role – c-suite professionals, for example, probably shouldn’t expect to be working from home most of the week – it does apply to many SMEs who are looking to build a finance function and the overall changing attitude to what actually constitutes a benefit.
Fortunately, the different types of employee benefits you can provide is broad and there’s no real limitation other than your budget and imagination. The key is providing something that your employees truly value.
What are the different types of employee benefits?
Here you’ll find a breakdown of our various benefit packages across the professional sector:
Flexibility and work-life balance
Of course we couldn’t talk about employee benefits without mentioning flexible, or hybrid, working. The most talked about thing in modern recruitment is now almost an expectation, especially as employee mental health and wellness become more important.
It’s critical that businesses offer hybrid-working to remain competitive during recruitment, as you’re potentially cutting off 95% of candidates by not offering at least one day per week from home.
In the current market it’s recommended that companies offer core working hours, with flexible start and finish times, that allow for employees to do the school run or avoid busy commutes.
It’s important to remember that many employees are also less inclined to leave existing roles or move for jobs if it means a potentially worse work-life balance. Companies that offer benefits such as shared parental leave, upskilling opportunities, mental health support, occupational health expertise and flexible working are all typically leading in terms of desirability in the current market.
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Expanding Benefits
Whilst we’re still experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, the importance of a fair salary can’t be understated.
In a candidate-short market, the decision a candidate faces when accepting or declining a role often comes down to the benefits on offer, provided the salary is up to scratch.
Take a qualified accountant, for example. Professionals in this role will expect a car allowance as standard and bonus schemes should generally be offered on roles that pay £45,000 or more.
We’ve also started to see many more candidates enquire about pension schemes, holiday allowances and private healthcare as part of their benefits package.
If you’re looking to be a standout in the recruitment market, benefits such as those above, as well as things like childcare vouchers and flexibility around personal circumstances, will go far. Today, 20 days of annual leave and an autoenrollment pension is not a benefit.
Employee empathy
We’re also seeing many companies look to be more empathetic with the employee benefits they offer. A wide variety of organisations are looking to offer paid menopause leave, paternity leave, bereavement leave and the now infamous ‘pawternity leave’ for new dog owners.
This is symptomatic of how attitudes are shifting towards better employee relations and a natural consequence of organisations looking to be more empathetic.
If you don’t have any processes in place to offer an enhanced leave scheme during these important personal moments, you can expect a competitor to provide them in your place.