In the current jobs market, talent retention is the buzzword on the lips of all employers. Although for companies looking to reinforce their position in this tumultuous climate, offering a good pay packet isn’t enough anymore.
Exploring the wants of employers, Sarah Musgrove, Editor-in-chief at Brighter Business, has compiled a list of employee benefits that will create a truly excellent workplace culture.
On-Site Childcare
With the drive to get new parents back to work, offering on-site childcare is a perfect way to encourage workplace loyalty. Run by The Campbell Soup Company, the Campbell’s Family Center offers paid-for weekly childcare, or one-day options for those who have an emergency.
“That makes things so much easier,” says Nancy Reardon, Campbell senior vice president and chief human resource and communications officer. “If you get stuck and your babysitter gets sick, you can bring your child in.”
Unlimited Free Food
Well, isn’t this just everyone’s dream?
Another concept from Google’s HQ (who else?), employees can enjoy all the free food they want – and it’s not just sandwiches, they provide chef’s specials too. Keen to keep health conscious, the search giant also keep doctors on-site and desserts way in the back.
Flexible Hours
If employment in 2017 had a slogan it would be ‘down with 9-5!’. Also known as agile working, flexible hours has been a topic hotly discussed, with many HR experts agreeing that it’s time to do away with standard working days. Instead of the hours they spend in the office, staff should be judged by the amount of work they can get done.
Which reminds me of the old Bill Gates quote, “hire a lazy person to do a difficult job.” Why? “Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
Unlimited Holidays
Virgin Group give their staff as much holiday as they want, whenever they want, which, according to Richard Branson, is “one of the simplest and smarted initiatives” he’s heard of.
Well, now you’re talking…
Private concierge service
An initiative run by Johnson & Johnson, employees at the pharmaceutical company can have all of their chores taken care off for free. The thought behind it – less stress at home = less stress at work. Simple when you think about it like that.
Family Planning
Offering more than just childcare, Facebook are now helping couples plan for their future families. In a new initiative they are even giving female employees the option to freeze their eggs.
Which is, well, interesting.
“Pawternity” Leave
Now this is perhaps the cutest suggestion on the list. Craft beer company Brewdog will now give an employee, who has just adopted a puppy or rescue dog, one week’s paid leave to help them settle their new pet into their home.
5* Holidays
Tech company Moz, whilst offering a generous amount of holiday to their employees, go the extra mile by providing £3,000 in expenses to spend on their holiday.
Free Education
With all the talk about continuous learning, this is actually a pretty achievable perk for many companies to offer. Providing not only work-based training, but also further education will not only boost loyalty, but increase the value of your staff. Win-win.
A Paid Sabbatical
This is perhaps my favourite suggestion on the list. Capterra, a software solutions company, give employees 5 weeks of paid leave after 5 years at the company. But it doesn’t come that easy. One their return, employees need to give a presentation about what they did on their break…
More Credit
Now this might be going a bit far, but Weebly, the web-hosting company, gives their employees a company credit card to enjoy. Which, to me, sounds a little dangerous.
Ok, so some of these benefits can only be offered by the world’s biggest companies, but that doesn’t mean that SMEs and even larger businesses can’t glean something from this list. I think the biggest takeaway is simply this; if you want staff to stay loyal, you’re going to have to give them more than a basic salary, especially when they could just go and get a job at one of the companies listed above.
At the same time, providing benefits is just one element to developing a better workplace culture. You need to establish a workplace that people enjoy being in, and that comes from the top, down. Just giving away free credit cards isn’t going to do it.
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