Top 5 employee benefits for retention

Employee benefits are great for employee retention. According to research by Willis Towers Watson, 75% of employees are more likely to stay with their employer because of their employee benefits package. 80% would choose additional employee benefits over a pay rise, according to Harvard Business Review. According to One Medical, 69% of employee say they might choose one job over another for a better employee benefits offering.

So, which employee benefits are best for encouraging retention? Here’s our top 5.

1 Financial WellbeingYour employee’s financial wellbeing is incredibly important. It’s been well documented that employees in debt or struggling through financial difficulty are likely to experience high levels of stress and mental health issues.

Financial wellbeing benefits can include financial education, workplace ISA’s and Salary Deducted Loans.

Companies sometimes turn to pay-rises to improve retention. A pay-rise may help alleviate some financial difficulty in the short term, however it won’t get to the route cause of the employee’s financial difficulty.

Providing financial wellbeing employee benefits not only helps employees get out of financial difficulty but also helps them avoid it going forward.

By providing financial wellbeing benefits, not only are you helping employees also improve their mental wellbeing, you’re actively looking out for your employees and helping build a relationship between your employees and your company, thus improving employee retention.

2 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)An employee that is under stress or experiencing mental health problems that feels they have nowhere to turn often look to change their job or career entirely. This is particularly true for people who are experiencing increased levels of stress. Often, they associate their high levels of stress with their job.

If an employee’s role is causing them to be stressed, this should be addressed immediately. This is often easier said than done.

Whether the stress is being caused by their role or not, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) gives employees somewhere to turn to help alleviate their worries. It’s completely confidential and is dedicated to helping employees.

3 Holiday TradingHoliday trading is great because it allows employees to tailor their annual leave allowance to them. Depending on how the scheme is set up, the amount of annual leave an employee can purchase can often be tailored by the employer. Employers can sometimes have the option of allowing employees to sell holidays.

According to research by SPANA, the number one reason why employees quit their job is because they want a better work-life balance. Allowing employees to increase their annual leave allowance gives employees the option.

4 Reward and RecognitionRewarding and recognising your employees for their achievements and hard work is a great way to boost your employee’s self-esteem. According to research, meeting your employees’ needs is a key aspect to motivation and self-esteem is part of the well-documented Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow.

If you’re stuck for how to reward your employees, we’ve written about some reward and recognition ideas you should try!

5 Bike to Work SchemeThere are a number of advantages to the bike to work scheme which make it great for retention. The savings an employee can make can really mount up, from saving through paying through salary sacrifice to saving through cycling to work rather than driving or taking public transport if this applies.

The health benefits of a cycle to work scheme can’t be underestimated. We’ve always maintained that healthier employees are happier employees and happy employees are much more likely to stay with their current employers. By offering a bike to work scheme, you’re also demonstrating a willingness to help employees with their health and fitness.

Not only will these schemes save employers and employees on tax and national insurance, they’ll also save the business on recruitment costs which can stretch into the tens of thousands if staff turnover isn’t managed.