In one of the previous posts, we already discussed why applicants look for great employers and how you can use this to your advantage when selecting the best candidates. If people know you as a great employer, this will help your employer branding in the recruitment market and hence, help you attract more and better applicants.
The key here lays in employee benefits. Your employee practices for retention, reward, recognition, flexibility and motivation, will not only impact how your employees experience working for you but also how they talk about working for you. And that, right there, is the best promotion you can have for your employer brand. Candidates will believe employees before they believe corporate texts on your website.
Therefore, focus on treating your employees well in order to improve your employee retention and to improve your image of a great employer to attract new employees. This is how employee benefits can, and should, work to your advantage:
- Competitive salary and other monetary benefits
This one probably doesn´t need much explanation, in order to attract the best talent, you need to pay them well. Therefore, do your research and make sure your reward package is in line with industry standards and your candidates´ expectations. However, salary and other monetary benefits, are just a part of the total benefits package you should use to your advantage. Studies have shown that especially the younger generations of the workforce, care more and more about the other type of benefits in their contract than “just money”.
- Flexible schedule options
Flexibility to manage one´s work-life balance better is one of the biggest demands of the, especially millennial, workforce. This goes for both work schedule and work location, so the option to have flexible schedule options is often worth much more in the eyes of an employee or applicant than a little bit more salary. You can use this to your advantage because it will not only help with employee attraction and retention but also in the reduction of office costs. With flexible schedule options, you will most likely need less office space, furniture etc. which in the end will lead to cost savings as well.
- Paid time off
This is a big differentiator as well if your employees work well, don´t they deserve some time off? Think about your policies for holidays, compassion leave, sick days and maternity/paternity leave, just to a name a few. By providing generous paid time off you will not only improve employee satisfaction (and thereby employee retention) greatly, but this is also something that will set you apart in the recruitment market as a great employer.
- Insurances / retirement packages
Think about what you want to offer in terms of insurances and retirement packages because these are definitely benefits that employees appreciate and that will impact your employer branding. Health insurance for employees and their families should be basic but think beyond health insurance to see how you can really provide your workforce with some peace of mind (e.g. life insurance, disability insurance, dental insurance).
- Focus on an output based working schedule
This is one of our favorites, because it not only has a huge impact on employee retention but also on your results. By enforcing a trust-based, output focused working environment, you let your employees decide when and where they work, as long as they deliver what they need to deliver. Hence, instead of focusing on “being in the office from 9 to 5”, you focus on results and trust your employees that they will know when and how they can provide the best output.
How do you use your employee benefits to your advantage? We would love to read about it in the comments section!
