The Employee Experience: how the right benefits can bolster engagement
The savvy professional knows that, while employers may select who they hire, they must also be chosen themselves. A great impression and reputation are what brings talent to the door, but it takes a bit more to make them stay…
In the competitive business world, carefully nurturing your staff can be the thing that makes your success—and neglecting them can be the thing that breaks it.
We often see employees as tools, workers, and instruments for a greater goal. However, we tend to lose sight of what they truly are: Investments. An asset that you chose the day they were recruited. And like any good asset, growth and development are to be expected, even welcomed.
Yet, some companies do not put the proper attention to growing and retaining even their most capable employees. Behavior that results in squandered time, money, and talent.
Employee Experience & Benefits
High turnover rates, low engagement, and decreased productivity are easily blamed on employees, but unfortunately, the blame lies with the organization. To combat these factors, companies need to place focus on employee experience.
To put it simply, the employee experience matters to your bottom line. In fact, a survey conducted by The Future Workplace revealed that 83% of employers said the employee experience is important or very important for organizational success.
A great employee experience means more than keeping employees happy with a paycheck. Offering staff a competitive salary coupled with benefits is a winning recipe in reducing turnover.
The right benefits increase employee engagement by providing a sense of security and showing employees that their needs are considered and valued. According to a study by QuickBooks Payroll, nearly 45% of employees focus on benefits nearly as much as salary.
Focus on the experience to create a workplace for the future of your workforce. So, what must your organization offer to stop talent from leaving your company for greener pastures?
The Right Benefits
Caring about the employee experience is what allows companies to recruit top talent, instill company values, and retain their best employees.
With a solid employee benefits package, your company can distinguish itself from the rest of your competitors. Offering benefits to staff shows them that you’re not only invested in their futures at the organization, but also proves that you care about their overall health, personal goals, and professional development.
Paychex’s survey of 1,000 full-time
Healthy and satisfied employees mean fewer sick days, fewer “doctor visits,” better daily disposition, and a better overall employee experience – not to mention no more wasted funds on turnover.
Besides offering the traditional healthcare and retirement staples, here are four additional benefits to explore for an increased employee experience.
Loan Repayment Assistance
The workplace may not always be all about a paycheck, but it definitely is about money. Instead, it’s about having financial stability. Your staff needs to know that you have their best interests at heart. Sometimes that means knowing exactly what difficulties are targeting the brunt of your employees. Loans and college debt are a negative force in the lives of more employees than one may think. Spending four or more years getting a degree only to be riddled with long term bills dampens the enthusiasm your staff members have for their futures and in turn for their future in your organization.
Want to improve employee experience, then tackle the most prominent dark cloud your employees possess. According to SHRM, 6% of organizations offered student-loan repayment assistance. Now among companies with more than 40,000 employees, 15 percent now help employees repay college loans, up from 8 percent in 2017.
Lightening their financial loans shows staff members that you value their effort, understand their plight and most of all, are invested in their overall futures.
Wellness Programs
Healthy employees lead to happy workplaces. Filling your offices with employees full of joy, drive, and goals is ideal, even if it isn’t necessarily feasible. As humans, your staff is subject to the many fluctuating moods that react to influences like being overworked, being stressed at home or even just having rainy weather. Because of this, you cannot always be sure that you are getting your top talent in their tip-top shape.
Incorporating a wellness program can work wonders in shifting the moods of your employees as well as the workplace. 75% of employers offer wellness resources and information and/or a general wellness program.
The health of employees must come first. Suitable and useful wellness programs include flu vaccinations, rewarded weight loss programs, health fairs, offsite fitness centers and much more.
Career Mobility
As the unemployment rate continues to lower, the job market becomes increasingly competitive. Demands for more pay will ensue, work from home benefits will be expected, and most of all, the call for employee development and career mobility will arise.
Investing in the progress of your employees proves that they have both a stable position in the ranks of your organization and your support in the upward trajectory of their careers. 86% of employees indicate that professional and career development benefits are important to overall job satisfaction.
Development opportunities do not need to stop at traditional memberships or internal training courses. Onsite and offsite opportunities such as certification courses and professional licensing courses develop skills that employees can take with them through their role at the organization and further.
Retirement savings and planning benefits
Part of the employee experience means showing your employees that you care about their future. And not just their future within the organization. Organizations should consider the future of their staff inside the company and beyond. Employees never stop caring about their health and finances, and neither should you. Competitors in the market understand the value of equipping their employees for the future through proper retirement plans and 401Ks.
As the generations go in and out of the workplaces, many staff members require benefits that offer longevity such as Roth IRAs and elder care resources for their loved ones. To take it one step ahead of the competition, offer these resources as well as tips for their management.
Over one-half (53%)of organizations offered online investment retirement advice. Set your employees up for the future and make the time they spend with you even more productive.
The right benefits can be just the leverage you need to boost your employee experience and in turn overall engagement. Start off on the right foot with your recruited talent and leave a good impression for the future with a well-defined and executed benefits strategy.
