Anyone who's ever gotten a job offer understands how important the benefits package is, next to the compensation. However, for many, benefits have become even more vital. Over 75% of employees would rather have more benefits than a fatter paycheck. The pandemic showed that, overall, benefits schemes are rigid and flawed. That lack of fluidity and malleability is hurting employees and businesses too much to ignore.
Finding new ways to innovate your benefits package is now a serious topic of conversation in many sectors as employers figure out how to lure employees back to work. One of the best ways to get a better idea of how you can create more attractive benefits is by conducting an employee survey. You can choose from many types of survey templates, but you want to ensure yours is about observable and tangible data instead of thoughts so you get more concrete assessments.
It may take a few tries to understand what needs to change, and if you need assistance transitioning to a new setup, the FM Consulting Group can help. In the meantime, consider these ideas other employers are currently implementing.
Emergency Savings Accounts
From borrowing money from family and friends to sucking retirement savings dry just to keep the lights on during the pandemic, the deep financial hardship employees experienced highlighted just how unprepared everyone was. A few employers are looking at adding emergency saving accounts as a payroll deduction benefit to help workers weather the next crisis.
Remote Work Support
Remote work became more mainstream, and the technological solutions facilitating that transition experienced massive revenue boosts. Over a year later, 63% of employers around the world plan to make working from home permanent, and many are looking into offering stipends for home setups and related technology expenses.
Unique Work Schedules
For those who can't continue working from home, unique work schedules are also options employers are considering. For example, the 4/10 schedule has employees working 10 hours, four days a week. While this option has benefits and challenges, employers can stagger schedules to ensure offices are fully staffed all week while employees get that extra day to do what they want.
Family Care Benefits
Employers are pursuing numerous opportunities when it comes to family care benefits. Some offer fully paid leave for caregivers, while others subsidize in-home or in-center care for employees’ children and adult dependents by as much as 90%. Additionally, other companies provide tutoring services to help employees' children stay on top of their schoolwork.
Professional Development
According to SHRM, more companies are realizing the benefits of offering tuition assistance or even fully paying for employees to go back to school. Especially as companies continue to navigate a talent shortage. By providing financial assistance, you show your employees you care about their future and their professional growth. To underscore a focus on finding balance, you can encourage workers to opt for online programs that make studying more flexible so that school is compatible with their work and personal lives.
Mental Health Support
If there’s one lesson COVID-19 taught everyone, it was the importance of compassion. Burnout—defined as physical and emotional exhaustion—depression and anxiety spiked, especially among remote workers who felt less connected to colleagues. Some employers are offering no-questions-asked mental health days, while others are going so far as to shut down their businesses for a few days to give all employees a break.
Why New Benefits Are Important
The recent challenges present employers with a golden opportunity to reinvest in their businesses in ways that make them more fluid in the eyes of current and potential employees. It’s not just about who can work the most hours anymore; it's about getting more out of your workforce so everyone can thrive.
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