Benefits for long-lasting employee engagement
A positive experience begins with good management, a pleasant environment and, of course, a fair pay and rewards package. Employee benefits are an essential part of this package with more than a third of employees considering perks and benefits before accepting new jobs and almost seventy per cent of workers saying they would stay with their current employer if the benefits were worthwhile.
Offering a robust scheme with the right range of benefits for your employees has a huge impact on engagement levels which leads to increased retention rates and more people wanting to join your organisation. Engagement goes hand in hand with loyalty and the more loyal your workforce is, the more productive they will be and are less likely to take time off sick.
Offer a mix of benefits
It is advisable to have a selection of different types of benefits for your employees to choose from including both protection based, long term solutions and more instant, fun options. Health and financial wellbeing options should be incorporated as these are proven to be vital for engagement, contributing to a healthy work-life balance and demonstrating that staff are valued.
Below are our recommendations for key benefits to keep your staff engaged:
- Health cash plan – an affordable way to spread the cost of routine healthcare
- Health screening – get a body MOT and spread the cost over a year
- Critical illness cover – pays out a tax-free amount if the individual is diagnosed with certain illnesses or conditions
- Dental care – normally pays for check-ups and most work required
- Consolidated loans - financial education and affordable loans which can be repaid straight from salary
- Flexible working – this can include job shares and home working
- Holiday trading - allows employees to buy and sell holiday time to suit their personal needs
- Gym memberships – reduced membership fees to a local gym using negotiated corporate rates
- Discounts - with thousands of exclusive offers available at any time, employees can easily collect their discounts and save money
- Onsite benefits – there are many easy to introduce options, such as haircuts, massages, free fruits and BBQ days, which are low cost and really improve staff morale.
Get employees involved
When you’re planning your benefits strategy and thinking about what to include, it’s vital that you involve your employees to gauge their opinion and see what would be popular. Asking them what is important to them means they are interested and invested from the beginning and your scheme will have more success than if you decide the content without staff input. Keep monitoring their views once your scheme is live and you can make changes to address feedback, meaning your scheme is performing as efficiently as possible.
Employees who are engaged with their employee benefits scheme have a strong sense of loyalty, are proud of who they work for and have a healthier attitude than people working for companies without benefits.
This article was provided by You At Work.
In partnership with You at Work
The You at Work platform is affordable, easy to use and fast to set up,
