Top 5 employee benefits being offered in businesses

How effectively are you rewarding your staff? You already put them through a DBS check and a thorough selection process, now it’s time to show them you appreciate their hard work. Employee benefits are an effective way to retain staff and attract a wider pool of talent during recruitment drives. It helps differentiate you from other companies and is a great way to look after your team.

Why offer employee benefits?

There are many reasons why offering benefits and perks to your employees is important. Not least it can show that you care about them, but it can also:

·         Improve morale

·         Reduce staff absence

·         Set company values

·         Reduce staff turnover

·         Increase successful talent recruitment

Here are the top 5 employee benefits that your business should be considering.

1. Wellbeing benefits

One of the best benefits you can offer your employees is free or discounted gym memberships or home workout subscriptions. By doing so, you can support your workers to stay healthy and active which can reduce sick days while also showing that you care about their overall wellbeing. This is especially key if your workers typically do sedentary jobs. Another alternative is having on-site fitness classes once a week, such as lunchtime yoga or Pilates. You may also consider providing access to counselling or complementary therapies such as massages.

2. Discounted healthcare

Another way to show that you care about your staff’s wellbeing is to provide access to private healthcare, which can reduce the worry about finding appointments and ensure they stay in the best condition. If you can’t stretch to a full healthcare package, you can choose to simply pay for online GP services, prescription costs or opticians appointments/prescriptions, particularly if a role is computer-based.

3. Death in Service Insurance

It is not surprising that many families and households would struggle financially if a loved one sadly passed away. Death in Service Insurance is a benefit that is valuable for many workers, especially those who are uninsured. Offering this type of insurance shows your employees that you are not only looking after them but also their families. As the employer, you will get to set the payout limits. Typically, this is represented as a multiple of your employee’s salary, such as 4 times their pay.

4. Generous holidays and flexi-time

Giving your staff paid time off is important to their overall mental wellbeing. Many employees prefer to reward their staff with additional holidays than the mandatory 28 days (including bank holidays) which shows staff you value their wellbeing. Even giving someone their birthday off is a perk which doesn’t cost much, while offering flexi-time allows staff to build up a bank of overtime and take it whenever is appropriate. This means staff are more inclined to work additional hours when they are feeling productive and take days off during downtime, keeping things agile for your company.

 5. Store discounts

Whether the discount is relevant to your company or not, you want to show your employees that you care about their financial needs. Look out for your employees by providing them with discounts on a range of stores from clothing, supermarkets and fitness, to baby & child stores. Offering exclusive discounts that are available to your workers is a great way to show you are looking out for their wellbeing.

Employee benefits reward businesses too

When your workers have their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing needs met, they value the company they work for. You can work out packages yourself, or use existing tools out there that make it easier for you, such as Zest benefits platform which provides a personalised approach to benefits for each employee. However, you decide to incorporate a benefits package, your staff will reward you with loyalty.