Employee Benefits

Advantages of offering employee benefits

Employee benefits are important as they help attract and retain employees, contribute towards improving employee well-being and engagement.

But what advantages do they really give?

1. Add to your employer brand

Firstly we need to appeal to the best talent and to do this we need to be attractive in the marketplace.

It helps to have some tangible benefits that set you apart from the rest.

Offering benefits demonstrates that you are successful, stable and willing to invest in your employees.

2. Reduce employee turnover

Offering attractive and valuable benefits helps keep that talent that you fought so hard to attract in the first place.

If employees feel the value of their perks they will stick around for the long haul as they will feel respected and cared for.

3. Better morale

By understanding what it is that employees find most valuable, you will receive dedication and loyalty.

Don’t just offer a “one size fits all” package, tailor benefits with flexible solutions to meet everyone’s needs to keep your employees happy and productive.

4. Healthier staff

Wellbeing is the current hot topic and health and wellbeing activities provide a range of positive outcomes including better employee morale, a healthier and more inclusive culture and lower sickness absence.

Your strategy should define the problem you are trying to solve, whether it be stress busting or increasing productivity, to help your team feel happier and healthier.

5. Increased performance

By offering benefits, you give your staff a reason to care and they will remain loyal to you.

This dedication makes them work harder which can increase productivity and quality.

In the long term this loyalty will undoubtedly attribute to your overall success.

6. Save money

Benefits that operate via a salary sacrifice where the employee gives up part of their salary in return for a non-cash benefit such as childcare vouchers or holiday buy back schemes can be financially beneficial for both you and your employees.

If you can save employees money, you’re on to a winner and there is the added bonus of reduced tax and NI on certain schemes.

Discount benefit schemes can provide big savings on a variety of purchases.

Popular employee benefits include:

• Free food and/or drinks
• Discounted meals
• Dental care plans
• Subsidised gym membership
• Company car
• Free or subsided travel
• Employee referral bonus
• Free company events
• Childcare vouchers
• Flexible working hours
• Wellness programmes
• Cycle to work schemes
• Holiday buy back
• Health insurance
• Training cost contribution
• Reward and recognition schemes
• “Perks” and “freebies”
• Social action projects

Benefit schemes are not as unaffordable as you may think

They can offer a number of incentives such as retention, engagement, cost savings or talent attraction.

And they’re not just for corporates.

Many small and medium sized businesses use them too to give them a competitive advantage and to be an employer of choice.

If you’re interested in introducing a benefit scheme for your employees contact us to see how it could work for you.