Regardless of the size of your company, talent retention will be on your mind. You want to keep your best assets happy and productive. And the best way to do this is to look after them. Enter: your employee benefits.
Core legal benefits vs. enhanced employee benefits
There are two types of employee benefits: core legal benefits that you must provide and enhanced extras, which are at your discretion. The core benefits are obligations such as a company pension, paid annual leave, and the like.
Enhanced employee benefits are anything above and beyond. They are the “nice to have” benefits that support the health and wellbeing of your team. We believe that the days of deliberately confusing entitlements and gym memberships that are far from home, are done. In order to keep everyone happy, they need to be accessible, relevant, and flexible.
What about ‘company culture’?
Often confused as an enhanced employee benefit, company culture is an aligned way of thinking, behaving and feeling about your place of work. Organisational, workplace or company culture, is a recipe of environment, ethos, leadership, ethics, expectations, and a shared vision. While it is nice to have, it isn’t typically something we consider to be an official ‘employee benefit’. It is subjective and may play a part in retaining and attracting new talent.
Understanding work/life balance
Ultimately, your employee benefits should aim to support life outside of work. At the end of the day – literally and metaphorically, we are people with identities, familial structures, financial responsibilities, physical and mental health.
A token gym membership will not cut it anymore. Not just because it may not be of interest to some, but others may participate in specialist or premium activities, such as CrossFit or focussed sport activities.
Factors you should be considering when creating your enhanced employee benefits:
#1 Inclusive healthcare provisions
Our bodies are unique, and therefore the healthcare and private medical packages offered need to take this into consideration. You’ll want to check your package supports:
- A multigenerational workforce (including the over 60’s bracket)
- Recognition of LGBTQ+ needs in such a way that is both supportive and confidential
- Employees living with disabilities, or who identify as neurodiverse
- Mental health
- Familial health, including fertility, baby loss, premature babies, adoption, surrogacy, and same sex families
#2 Supporting wellness and a holistic view of health
Health and wellness are as much about the state of mind and body, as it is about our financial status. Many of us will know there is a correlation between debt and poor mental and physical health. By providing confidential, judgement-free financial wellbeing tools as standard can go some way towards helping those falling into hardship getting back on track.
#3 Supporting the economy: embracing flexible workers, such as parents and carers
With the rising cost of early years childcare, it is no surprise that many parents, especially mothers will struggle to find and stay in regular employment.
More often than not, it’s women who are forced to reduce their hours, forego promotions, or even leave work altogether as a result.
How can employers help? A few ways:
- Offering flexible hours and hybrid working opportunities
- Subsidised childcare schemes
- Enhanced parental leave
#4 Upskilling, reskilling, training, and development opportunities
By supporting your employees career development, you can improve your talent retention. We recommend setting aside budget for training and development, which includes both internal and external opportunities. Involve your team leaders to help identify who is interested in career development, and how best to support them.
You can also encourage skill sharing and mentorship programs within your organisation.
Why flexibility matters
We recognise that tastes change over time. As will your team and their needs. That’s why at Avantus Employee Benefits we recognise the importance of flexibility. Our platforms empower HR professionals to offer packages that can be easily adapted, ensuring they stay relevant, and continue to provide value.
To this end, we have a range of platforms to suit businesses of all sizes, industries, and attitudes. If you’re keen to discover which platform is best for your company and its unique needs, why not get in touch with us. Our team of expert advisors will help identify what’s important to you, and what we can do to help support your employee engagement and flexible, appropriate benefits solutions.