Adding value and creating benefits for your employees
The turn of the millennium doesn’t seem that long ago, does it? Anyone over the age of about 40 was probably working then. Fortunately, we didn’t see computers blowing up or have planes falling from the sky as some thought we would as we entered the 2000s.
The other thing we didn’t have, as part of an employment package, was much in the way of benefits.
Remote working, or ‘telecommuting’ as it was known then, was so rare as to be practically unheard of. Health benefits were also thin on the ground. If you were top tier management, you might have been offered health insurance. As for the rest of us, we were busy smoking in the office or, in the more forward-thinking companies, in the designated ‘smoking room’.
Many would have had pensions, although there was no legal requirement for employers to provide them, and some of the things you might have been offered were share options or parking subsidies, both of which have decreased in popularity as part of a benefits package over the last two decades. If you got 25 years’ service in, perhaps you’d get a watch or a mantel clock!
Fortunately, times have changed
The days when the offer of health insurance and a basic pension plan were enough to attract candidates are over. Today, a great package, including a competitive salary with a number of valued benefits wrapped around it, is the norm. When seeking out the best talent, particularly when experiencing a skills shortage, you need to make your offer attractive.
Benefits tend to fall into four categories:
Work benefits
This category includes areas such as working hours and holiday, skills development, provision of free or subsidised food and drink. So remote working, flexi-time, CPD, mentoring, a commitment to training, a café, or food vouchers are all things that can be offered under this category.
Health benefits
Here we are looking at benefits such as wellness support and access to physical and mental healthcare services.
Finance benefits
This covers the essential pensions but also insurance plans and access to financial advice and services such as foreign currency exchange and financial planning.
Lifestyle benefits
Companies offer numerous lifestyle benefits such as social events, cycle to work schemes, gym memberships, creche provision and so on.
The benefits that your employees will appreciate will vary by age group. Not surprisingly, older workers value pension and healthcare most highly. The millennials and Gen Z are looking for flexible working routines and personal development. If you can tailor your package to your employees’ needs, you are more likely to create something that is perceived as fabulous value.
Organisations can make the creation of a benefits package easy by working with a third party like Remus Rewards. We offer a range of health, finance and lifestyle benefits that can be packaged together as needed. Take a look at what we can offer here.
Nigel Chambers
Remus Rewards, a division of People Value Limited, is an FCSA Business Partner, a TEAM Service Provider, an APSCo affiliate member and a market leading provider of reward and loyalty solutions to the temporary labour and recruitment market across the UK. By using our technology, businesses can improve their employee proposition, performance and increase employee morale and loyalty. Employees can take advantage of savings on high street shopping, including 7 major supermarkets, eating out, special rate cinema tickets and discounted gym memberships.
