As we continue to explore the importance of perks and benefits and how they relate to employee engagement, you may find yourself asking the all-important question “How do I choose the right benefits for my employees?” In this day and age there are countless resources available but with tight corporate budgets and new industries, sometimes offering an all-encompassing perks and benefits package can be a financial strain. Even if your organization is able to provide endless perks, are they options your employees are even interested in? The first step in creating the right plan for your team is learning what their needs are as well as what interests them.
What Perks And Benefits Does Your Staff Desire?
Beyond understanding your staff and their needs, it’s also vital to have a keen eye on what perks and benefits can be available. As an employer, it’s imperative that you first have a firm grasp on standard voluntary benefits such as Health Insurance, Life Insurance, and 401k Plans, amongst others. What about those other gray areas such as auto insurance, wellness programs, fitness centers, or pet insurance? It’s worth noting there’s no one right plan to offer employees but you can begin to discover the best options by researching what they need.
Health, Disability And Life Insurance Basics
One of the most valued and standard benefits for employees is health insurance. BizJournal.com reports: “Health care insurance is offered at nearly all companies; however, there are a number of different techniques employers use to adjust the overall cost, which on average is more than $7,000 yearly per employee.” This can be a hefty cost for any organization, especially smaller companies. By learning more about your team’s needs you’ll be able to determine what they are looking for in their health plan. If you have a younger staff, a higher deductible may work just fine whereas individuals with families most likely seek out a plan with more of a service focus.
Disability and Life Insurance are two other notable benefits, especially for those staff members with families at home to support. Daily HR Solutions reports that “for the most part the premiums tend to be low for both these options, and employees tend to check the box due to their ‘why not?’ reflex.” However, most employees choose these options, then find later the coverage isn’t quite as expansive as they first believed. If you choose to offer either of these insurances, make sure you are upfront with your staff so they know upon electing these benefits what is and isn’t covered by these policies.
Everyone hopes to retire at some point in their life, and many individuals are more than willing to work hard now to make that dream a reality. One survey shows that as many 89% of employees consider a 401K or similar plan a “very important” piece of a benefit plan. While it may seem like a high cost, these plans are usually far more affordable than most employers realize (as low as $300 a month for a quality plan!) and can help you retain employees as well as attract quality new hires.
Find The Right Perks And Benefits Mix For Your Team
Some companies have found that employees are becoming increasingly interested in unique benefits such as automobile insurance, perks programs, and even pet insurance. While there is no concrete answer for any organization, this goes back to engaging your staff to educate your HR team on which perks and benefits are most desired. Do your team members value auto insurance options over a decked out health care plan? Would they prefer flex time in exchange for extra vacation days? Only time and research will help you make the best choice.
Even as the economy begins to pick up, most of today’s workers are still looking for ways to save money. Perks and discount programs such as Abenity can be a great investment for your team members as they will have easy access to discounts on products and services they use daily. These savings add up significantly over time and can almost feel like a getting a raise to your team members. Even more so, Abenity offers discounts on those “extras” in life everyone appreciates – vacation packages, computers and software, and even household appliances and furniture.
The bottom line: there’s no one universal solution for every company. The key to creating the best perks and benefits package for your staff comes with time, asking questions, and getting to know each individual’s needs. This is a great way to open up communication lines between team members and the HR office while building the ever-important employee loyalty and engagement.
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