Employee benefits are so much more than just ‘perks’ and extra add-ons for employees over and above their compensation package. When approached and implemented correctly, they serve as an effective tool in creating and maintaining a desired company culture, a way of nurturing loyal employees as well as are an incentive to improve productivity and performance levels. They are designed to help attract, retain and engage the valuable talent that businesses rely on by supporting and caring for employees both in and out of the workplace. The most effective employee benefits should be tailored to the wants and needs of the organisation’s workforce, are simple to use as well as support the greater business objectives and corporate culture.
More so than ever before, we’re living in such uncertain times and this is putting immense pressure on households and budgets. The future is unknown and people are trying to hold onto as many pennies as possible. Employee benefits are a fantastic method to help ease the pressure of everyday spending and are particularly effective.
As all businesses are so different in their approaches and their offerings, so too should all employee benefits schemes be. There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, but rather should be tailored to the corporate culture and then further personalised for the individual employees and their geolocations. This will ensure that the benefits on offer are far more impactful than simply just generic offers which are not necessarily relevant.
The value of these benefits serves both for the employee and employer alike. For employees, employee benefits can assist in saving money on everyday expenses where they’ll have more disposable income, they increase engagement at work, they improve mental and physical wellbeing and can create a more enjoyable corporate culture. For employers, employee benefits can aid in reducing employee absenteeism, reduce staff turnover, makes the business an appealing and desired place to work and can help recruit and retain top talent.
There are so many different employee benefits which an employer can offer to its employees. An employee benefits package includes everything from savings and perks on everyday spending, such as discounts at high street retailers, supermarkets, cinemas, to travel packages, finance and insure and so much more. In addition, there are also voluntary benefits (commonly known as salary sacrifice) which can be offered too, for example cycle to work schemes, childcare vouchers, car leasing, home technology savings, employee assistance programmes and more.
For many organisations they simply steer away from implementing such schemes as they fear the initial cost won’t necessarily justify the investment or they do not see the holistic value they can potentially add to their employees’ lives. A sophisticated employee benefits package doesn’t need to cost the earth, but if done well, it can pay dividends for years to come.
Download Xexec’s newest Employee Benefits e-Book to discover the enormous opportunities that employee benefits offer.