Employee benefits, without stating the obvious, are benefits for your employees. No, we don't mean tea and coffee, fresh fruit or a holiday allowance; as times have changed these have come to be expected as a bare minimum as opposed to a benefit, and it's about time. From flexible working patterns to points and prizes, employee benefits cover a wide range of tangible rewards and incentives to keep your employees rewarded, valued and engaged. Here's 5 of our favourites from Jordan Lorence, Marketing Manager, MRL Consulting Group.
Flexibility and freedom
One of the newest employee benefits to take the working world by storm is flexible working; lockdown forced us into it, and employee from hundreds of different industries proved it can work. Savvy employers are championing this new way of working, offering flexible, hybrid or fully remote working, flexible work hours and, in some cases, a full-time 4-day week (MRL Consulting Group championed a 4-day week in the recruitment industry back in 2019 with some incredible results).
Prizes and incentives
Going above and beyond commission and base salary is becoming more and more apparent, especially in sales based industries. Whether it's little and often, once a quarter or by hitting milestones, extra prizes are really well received by employees and give employers an opportunity to champion and reward exceptional work. Everything from offering stocks and shares, vouchers, dinners, sabbaticals, holidays or even Rolex's count as benefits, and they do wonders for motivating your team and fostering healthy competition.
Healthcare and wellness
If you can offer a service to your employees to give them physical and mental health support, do it. Vitality offer a fantastic all-in-one service for your staff, offering private doctors, 24/7 support, mental health priority helplines, physiotherapy cover, osteopaths and a host of discounted health products and gadgets. Match this with an internal policy of supporting your teams mental and physical wellbeing and they will feel supported when times get tough, and flourish knowing they have the support behind them when they need it.
Education and upskilling
Technological advancements are changing the world around us exponentially; the software we use, the processes we implement and the flow of our day-to-day working lives are constantly evolving. This means that last year's newest toys is today's old news. Providing the opportunity for employees to learn new skills, languages or softwares or expand upon the ones they currently have is fantastic for a number of reasons. First of all, you get a more skilled workforce, and secondly it gives your employees the opportunity to diversify their capabilities, to grow and to adapt to the ever changing skills landscape. You as a company stay ahead of the curve, and your employees recognise you as a place to flourish. Subsidising online courses for your employees (and even their families if you’re so inclined) is a fantastic benefit to offer.
International opportunities
Lockdown kept the vast majority of us grounded for almost 2 years. As airports open up and face to face becomes easier to facilitate, offering international opportunities to your employees is sure to be a benefit worth considering. Whether it’s the opportunity to work in different offices across the world if you have them, or the ability to head overseas and meet clients face to face, giving your employees the opportunity to spread their wings is fantastic. Not only does this help to foster great relationships with clients, but it can bring an international company together, improving collaboration between offices and teams. It also gives your employees the choice to add a few days of holiday onto the end of a trip, exploring a new city whilst they progress their career.
