Today’s prospective employee is very different to what you would have encountered a few decades ago. In fact, they’re different to what you would have expected even a handful of years ago. With the use of the internet and smart devices fully ingrained into daily life, employees and job seekers value a work life balance more than ever before. And whilst this creates a lot of opportunities, it’s also made being an employer a lot more competitive than ever before.

Job seekers these days are looking for more than just the opportunity of employment. They see certain things as fundamental rights instead of benefits and they expect their prospective employers to bring something to the table before they sign on the dotted line.

So to help you remain competitive and attract the best possible candidates for your vacancies, let’s take a look at the top three benefits you should be offering all employees.

 

Flexible Working

 

In today’s business climate, flexible working is an absolute must. If you’re not offering this to your employees, you’re already way behind your competitors and peers.

Flexible working doesn’t just mean being able to turn up half an hour later in the mornings. It means trusting your employees to do their job in their own time. Whether they have children, enjoy partaking in extreme sports or just have a hectic social life, today’s employees appreciate the freedom to fit their work schedule around their lives.

Of course, depending on the role there may be certain times where they have to be in the office, but generally speaking, allowing your employees to work from home or to work different hours will make them feel valued, trusted and will encourage them to continue working hard for you.

And if remaining attractive to employees isn’t enough to convince you, remember that happy workers work harder. If you respect your staff and trust them enough to let them work on their own terms, they are far more likely to work harder for you and may even end up putting in more hours.

You are also likely to see a decline in sick days. Imagine waking up one day feeling a little bit under the weather. Facing the office for a long day would encourage you to hide under the duvet, but if you were allowed to work from your sofa in your pyjamas, you probably could! Offering flexible working to your staff is therefore likely to increase overall productivity.

 

Health & Fitness Allowance

 

Younger generations (and the future of your business) are deeply committed to their overall health and fitness. Partnering with a gym near your office to provide staff discounts is one way of showing staff that you value their health and want to support their fitness.

Or, you could simply offer a health and fitness allowance to give your staff the freedom to choose. Whether they want to run the New York Marathon or pay for a year’s worth of boxing classes, showing that you support their personal life will go a long way to building strong and healthy relationships with your staff and gaining employee loyalty.

 

Dental & Health Insurance

 

Nobody wants to spend time in hospital, pay for scans or undergo an emergency root canal treatment but unfortunately, these things do crop up as an unavoidable part of life. So what better way to show that you value and support your staff than by offering dental and health insurance?

From a job seeker’s point of view, if they were offered two identical jobs with identical salaries but one of them offered dental & health insurance… take a guess which one they’re going to pick? It’s a logical and sensible financial choice for prospective employees. And from a staff relationship point of view, it shows that you care and that you value their health.

 

In Summary…

 

Staff benefits don’t have to be about ping-pong tables and beanbags in the office. Simple things like health insurance and trusting your employees enough to work independently will go a long way to building staff loyalty and will make you very attractive to potential employers.