As demographics of the modern workforce shift, recruiting and retaining employees presents new challenges. What are today’s employees looking for from their employers? Alternative benefits that go beyond the traditional ones to meet a variety of employees’ personal and professional needs. Here are nine ways you can boost employee satisfaction and retention.
Flexible Schedules/Telecommuting: A little flexibility can go a long way for employees. Giving them the option to work from home, even if only occasionally, shows the level of trust the employer has for the employee. You can also give employees the option to work longer hours on certain days for a shorter work week.
Health Care Apps: Digital tech can boost wellbeing and satisfaction. Let your employees track their health and connect with their medical providers.
Student Loan Assistance: For millennial and younger employees, student loan debt is a significant source of anxiety. Helping ease that burden can increase employee satisfaction and help them be more productive at work.
Philanthropy: Everyone loves a good cause, and companies with philanthropy programs have happier, more engaged employees than those that don’t. Workplace giving, PTO for volunteering, and donation matching are just a few of the ways you can care about what your employees care about.
Parental Leave: New babies are wonderful, but can also be stressful and exhausting. Cut your employees some slack and offer extra parental leave.
Birthday Day Off: A small, but significant perk. A paid day off to celebrate a birthday is a fun way to show employees that you appreciate them.
Emergency Savings Match: Between student loan debt, increasing housing costs, and rising insurance premiums, there is almost no one who doesn’t feel the financial squeeze. Prevent 401(k) raids and reduce stress by helping your employees set up emergency savings.
Pet-friendly Workplace: Let employees bring their best friends into work and you could see the stress levels in the office decrease.
Healthy Snacks: Keep energy levels up and insurance premiums down by providing healthy snacks in the office for employees to munch on. Fruit, nuts, veggie chips, and granola bars are just a few of the items you can keep on hand to feed your hungry staff.
Employees are the most valuable resource your company has, and turnover is costly. These types of extra benefits show your employees that you care about their whole lives, and can improve morale and productivity. Create a culture of appreciation and they will help make your business a success.