Following on from my previous blog about making your employee benefits easier to access on your website, I thought I’d go ahead and write a blog about what kind of benefits are being seen the most in the current market. I’m also going to cover some benefits that are slightly outside of the box that you may not have heard of before. I hope this blog helps you when trying to attract top talent for the rest of 2022.
If you haven’t read that blog first, I’d highly recommend doing that and then circling back, you’ll be able to find the link to that one here -?https://bit.ly/3IDu1R4
I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this, but it’s super important in a candidate’s market to constantly be re-evaluating your companies EVP and benefits list, because, put simply… the more you can offer the candidates, the more likely they are to choose you in their job search.
Between the market research, I’ve been doing (which is code for stalking every company I come across’s career pages & glass door profiles) and the endless conversations I’ve been having with candidates and clients in the market, I’ve compiled a list of the most popular and common benefits that are encountered in the market to date:
- Bonuses - This is the number one most tangible way to incentivize applications and promote high offer-to-acceptance ratios, especially if you’re struggling with salary banding. But don't worry, if your company is not in a position to offer a bonus there are plenty of other ways to incentivize candidate engagement…?
- Stock / Equity - I find opinions on this quite divisive, some candidates place a lot of value on stocks & equity whilst others see it as too intangible to matter. We tend to see this kind of incentive offered by companies in the start-ups/scaleups phase, as well as large corporations.
- Remote working - The most controversial of the lot, in my opinion, especially post-pandemic. With about 30% of the candidates, I speak to wanting fully remote options it’s definitely worth considering offering this is part of your company's policy. If you’re not in a position to accommodate fully remote work, then hybrid working models need to be as flexible as possible and demand no more than 2 days per week in the office (1 day per week seems to be the most ideal for the candidates I've spoken to).
- Learning Opportunities/ Budgets for Certifications - This is especially popular amongst candidates with junior and mid-level skillsets, they tend to place more emphasis on how to better & progress their careers in the future rather than how much they earn.
- Parental Leave Packages - This is (but not always) more popular amongst the more senior & female candidates. Having well-thought-out and generous parental leave packages also promotes a family vibe and inclusive work culture that is appreciated by candidates a lot.?
- Health Insurance - This used to be seen amongst more American companies, but more Aussie companies are incorporating this into their perks lists. When we think about how much people spend on private health insurance the appeal becomes clear, I’ve even heard some candidates refer to it as part of their total salary package, purely because it saves them so much, even though it’s not money directly in their pockets.?
- Social Activities - Hack days, Friday night ping pong, seminars, fully-stocked Beer fridges, on-site baristas, weekends away, I’ve even seen a company employ a hairdresser on a fortnightly basis to provide free haircuts!!!!!! If you’re looking to foster a fun-loving and youthful environment, these benefits are the way to go. You’ll be surprised by the impression even the smallest of these perks makes on a candidate's attitude towards your company branding.?
- Extra leave - Either accrued days off or the ability to purchase extra leave pre-tax, this sort of stuff tends to fall under the staff wellbeing & mental health area, and some candidates even rate extra time off higher than monetary incentives.
- Employee Assistance Programs - This one is the unsung hero, it’s the perk that no candidate thinks they’ll ever have to use until they’re struggling. Even though I rarely refer to it when I’m encouraging a candidate to apply for or accept a role, it’s an essential part of making your candidates and employees feel cared for and supported.?
If you want to see a good example of a company that has complied their benefits in an easily digestible way, as I recommended doing in my previous blog, go look at Atlassian’s website:
Notice they have even organized their “perks & benefits” lists into three different tabs:?
“Employee support”, “Perks” & “Work-Life Balance”.?
It’s a fantastic idea to break your benefits list into those sections, it’s unique and shows that your company is implementing benefits that add value to multiple areas of the candidate's life. One extra tab I’d suggest including when it comes to considering unique or out-of-the-box style benefits would be adding benefits for “Diversity and Inclusion”.?Some people consider diversity and inclusion as a benefit in itself; however, I am of the opinion that if some of your benefits encourage diversity and inclusion then you’re one step closer to having a workplace with higher rates of diversity without having to tokenistically hit “quotas”.
Some great examples of benefits that encourage a diverse and inclusive work environment include:?
- Extra Medical Leave Options - This gives rise to advocation for people who suffer from chronic health issues no matter how minor and opens up the floor for candidates that might require extra medical care to apply.
- Family Leave Options (Equal Maternity & Paternity Leave Packages) - Similarly to parental leave it encourages parents of all ages to apply and be a part of a work environment that will nurture their desire and need to caregive.
- Floating Holidays - A floating holiday is a paid day off that an employee can take at any time during the year (as outlined in their floating-holiday policy), this encourages multiculturalism as people of different backgrounds are able to take time off during important religious holidays.
- Flexible Scheduling. This will ensure that everyone's lifestyle is catered for! One such example includes no meetings during school pick-up and drop-off hours for employees who are also parents and trust-based working hours (basically rendering the 9-5 obsolete, so long as you get your daily tasks done).?
- Domestic Partner Benefits - Allowing partners to join company healthcare plans and expanding bereavement leave, then allows for people to better adapt to radical changes that can otherwise lead to trauma & other mental health issues.
- Wellness Benefits - Yoga sessions, Guided meditations, Gym membership, Nutrition Education sessions etc. All to help promote healthy minds and higher productivity levels, especially for those who might be suffering in silence.
- Tuition Assistance - Especially in the Tech space, we see a lot of examples of candidates who are working full time as well as trying to complete their degrees. Having tuition assistance helps take the burden off of young candidates' minds and allows them to be more present during work hours.
During a time where perks and benefits have never been more important to review, finalize and publish in order to help your hiring success, I hope this blog has shed some insights into what's out there and what’s most popular so you can create and publicize a list of your own that best reflects your companies branding.?
If you’re interested in chatting about further market insights, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, DM me or email me at [email protected]
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Looking forward to connecting!
