THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS – HOW THEY CAN ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP TALENT

Employers should look well beyond the paycheck if they want to make their organisations as attractive as possible for top talent.

What are you looking for in the ideal job?

A good salary is one of the requirements, but when candidates have to choose between two companies that offer similar salaries, other benefits will come into play. The workplace market is increasingly competitive and, according to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, organisations that use employee benefits during the recruitment process report higher effectiveness in the attraction and retention of top talent compared to those that only focus on the salary alone.

Another survey found that Millennial candidates are more likely to prefer benefits to pay raises, and 60% of all candidates use benefits when comparing job offers.

In 2021, we can even talk about employee benefits as a major branding element that can attract top talent like a magnet. Employee benefits show that an organisation is willing to offer more than the bare minimum and that it cares about its workers’ wellbeing.

That being said, employee benefits can be quite elusive, as many organisations don’t know what exactly to focus on:

What benefits do employees want most?
These days, many companies are trying to be cool and different and, to prove this, they offer perks such as ping-pong tables, yoga sessions, and pizza Fridays. While these perks are nice, on their own, they’re not strong enough to attract and retain top talent.

According to a LinkedIn study conducted among 3,000 US workers, the benefits that carry the most weight fall in these categories:

● Health, wellness, and retirement
● Work-life balance
● Financial
● Travel

Overall, the benefits that employees look for the most in a company are:

● Healthcare insurance
● Paid time off
● Performance bonuses
● Paid sick days
● Pension fund 

At Joss Search we recognise the importance of having an industry leading benefits package for attraction and retention of top talent, so alongside what’s listed above we also offer:

● Flexible working hours/working from home
● Annual trips abroad for all employees
● Paid volunteering day within the community
● Cycle to work scheme

You can find out more about our benefits here!

COVID-19 has created a need for new employee benefits
In the same way that salaries can increase, because the city’s cost of living has gone up, employee benefits can reflect the social and cultural changes that a market is going through – and here, the pandemic is the biggest thing to have happened in recent years.

COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work, and employers need to be mindful of that if they want to stay competitive. In a Harvard Business Review article, Care.com CEO Tim Allen reflected on the impact of the pandemic on the lives of employees, arguing for the need for new employee benefits, such as child and senior care benefits, expanded mental health support, and hybrid work models.