When an employee is looking to find the right job they often look for a few key things. Good work environment, a job that feels important, and a proper benefits plan. The benefits plan seems to have replaced the pension as the new way of keeping talent stick around, so if you’re an employer, you need to consider how important this is for those potential employees.
Providing a good, competitive salary or wage is one thing, but money can only go so far, and when your employees need to start paying for things out of pocket, that salary starts to wear thin when they have to pay for living expenses and other costs. Here are 6 things to consider when making an attractive and useful employee benefits plan.
1. Consider Hiring a Service to Build the Benefits Plan
It takes a lot of feedback, research, and consulting to come up with a really good benefits package, so this work can feel daunting or cut into some of your efforts. A good solution is to hire a service that can help create a benefits plan, help teach you the basics of employee benefits, and save you time. They have experience in creating one that will work for your employees and work within the constraints of your business’s budget.
2. Make the Benefits Flexible to Accommodate All Employees
A diverse range of benefits is good because it allows for flexibility. This is apparent in voluntary benefit options, like vision care, which many people don’t need, but many do. Making it compulsory or involuntary eats away the money that their plan could be used on things more relevant to them, like childcare. You want to be flexible to provide enough benefits for all without overwhelming your plan or narrowing it down so much that no one gets anything specialized.
3. Place Emphasis on Health Insurance
Health insurance is likely the number one attractor for employees when it comes to a solid benefits plan. If you can get them on board with the benefits that help them build a medical savings account, or help reduce the cost of prescriptions, or anything related to their healthcare expenses, they will be very grateful. You can even accommodate special preferences with voluntary care for things like cancer care, which is usually more expensive or not covered under basic health insurance plans. To know more, check out https://www.the-insurance-surgery.co.uk/medical-conditions-life-insurance/cancer-life-insurance/
4. Financial Benefits Should Always Be Included As Well
Second to health insurance is financial benefits. Helping them build a strong financial portfolio and savings account will give your employees breathing room between them, employment, and retirement. This is a major factor in stress, so matching their 401(k) contributions or giving them help with a Roth IRA or IRA can benefit everyone. When employees aren’t consumed by thoughts of their personal finances, they can focus more on their work and you can feel good knowing you’re helping provide them with the building blocks for a successful future post-employment.
5. Benefits That Extend Beyond Their Work-Life Are Valuable
Benefits outside of their work-life don’t end with health insurance, they begin with lifestyle benefits. Your workforce is likely very diverse, which means everyone has a wide range of needs at home. Whether they are very committed to an active lifestyle and would like membership perks at their local gym, or they need massage therapy for an aching body, or if they need childcare as mentioned, it’s good to remember that they live full lives outside of the office or work environment. Giving them the resources to live a better life grants them more freedom beyond their salary and beyond their work-life.
6. Provide Benefits for Their Work Development
An interesting way to incorporate the development of their skills into their benefits plan is to provide resources and tools that are subsidized by their benefits. Allowing them to get professional development skills without paying out of pocket or taking valuable time off of work helps them improve their skills in their job. This can even lead to promotions or help them find new positions down the line. It’s also a creative way to help your employees maximize their potential and isn’t something that many employers consider when building a benefits package.
Giving your employees a good wage or salary isn’t enough these days, especially with many employers shirking the pension in favor of other alternatives. With that being said, a good benefits plan will still allow you to give them the help they need in and outside of the workplace, so those 6 factors are certainly good to keep in mind.
