Did you know 92 percent of employees say that benefits are essential to their overall job satisfaction? Keeping your staff satisfied can have massive benefits for your company, both in the short term and long term.
One of these benefits is high staff retention. The ability to hold onto your best talent can save you lots of time and money needed for hiring and training new staff. Besides, it averts disruptions in performance and productivity.
Your employee benefits package says much about you and your organizational culture. It reveals what you value and what you reward. More importantly, it shows that you value and appreciate your employees’ contribution to the success of your business.
The good news is that employee benefits packages don’t have to break your business bank accounts. The best employee benefits packages aren’t necessarily the most expensive ones. Instead, they’re things that your employees actually care about, some of which don’t even cost money.
In this post, we outline five of the best employee benefits that are also surprisingly affordable.
What Are Employee Benefits?
Employee benefits refer to perks and privileges that you offer to employees on top of their wages or salaries. These packages come in many forms, from free travel to health care.
Some common employee benefits are required by law. These include Medicare and Social Security payments. Some states also require businesses to contribute disability programs.
What Benefits Should You Offer in Your Company?
Now that you understand how essential providing employee benefits is for your organization, you’re most likely interested in knowing which packages you should start to offer. The goal should be to have a benefits program that makes the most sense to your employees without wrecking your company budget. Visit Finvisor.com for tools that can help you manage your employee benefits program.
So, what benefits are most effective in keeping your workers happy and engaged? Check out these innovative and affordable options.
1. Workers’ Compensation
Workplace accidents happen all the time. No matter the lengths you’ve gone to boost safety in your workplace, the unexpected can still happen. Insuring your workers against accidents is a huge statement that you care about their well-being.
Even if your state doesn’t require it, go ahead and get workers’ compensation insurance. This insurance has you and your employees’ back when an injury happens on the job. Policies typically cover waged replacement for employees, their medical bills, and vocational rehabilitation.
The best thing about workers’ comp insurance is that it’s remarkably affordable. On average, you’ll pay approximately 1.4 percent of the employee’s salary.
2. Affordable Health Plans
In America, health insurance is arguably the commonest type of employee benefits. Now that you’re already contributing to your employees’ medicare plans, what other options should you consider? Here are two affordable options:
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Out-of-pocket health care accounts have been increasing over the years. A health savings account offers your employees a tax-free way to pay for their medical expenses. You can offer this account as a standalone benefit or alongside a health insurance plan.
Flexible Savings Account (FSA)
FSAs are also tax-advantaged accounts that make it easier for your employees to pay for medical expenses. The main difference between HSAs and FSAs is that while HSAs are organized by employers, the latter are organized by employees.
An FSA allows your employees to save up a portion of their pre-tax earnings that they can then use to pay for health care. You’ll pre-fund their account as the employer, and they’ll make the contributions throughout the year.
Given that you don’t pay taxes for employee contributions when it comes to HSAs and FSAs, you get to save money.
3. Wellness Programs
Wellness perks are gaining popularity in today’s business space, with 69 percent of businesses that have 50 or more employees offering them. These programs have proven beneficial in promoting healthy work environments, increasing productivity, and earning companies some tax incentives.
A significant number of companies now have yoga programs for their employees, and you can consider one for your organization. You can also rally walking groups in your company to take weekly lunchtime strolls. Consider offering a monthly in-office exercise class to keep everyone feeling recharged.
Wellness programs are generally inexpensive, which makes them ideal for businesses of all sizes. To spice up the program, offer small prizes during fitness challenges.
4. Flexible Work Schedules
No one wants to follow rigid schedules that offer absolutely no flexibility. Such schedules create stress and burnout over time and will ultimately lead to high turnover.
Consider work arrangements that allow your employees to work from home. Of course, this may not be possible for organizations that need to serve customers at a physical location.
But even businesses that require employees to be physically present in the office can find creative ways to enhance flexibility in the workplace. For instance, workers who are parents of small children prefer to come to work an hour later in the morning and leave an hour later in the evening. Making this possible for them allows your staff to build schedules that work well with their lifestyle.
5. Offer Family Perks
Another innovative incentive you can give your employees is to extend their benefits to the people they care most about: their family. For insurance, you can offer a more improved parental leave plan beyond what your state requires.
Many companies offer gifts for workers who’ve just become new parents. These gifts could be anything from prepared meals to baby bath sets.
You can also offer a meal stipend once a month or a gift check that can be used to buy groceries.
Some organizations have an annual “bring-your-kid-to-work.” The day is both fun and an opportunity to experience a work environment.
Create an Employee Benefits Program for Your Company
Having a great employee benefits program is one of the best ways to keep your staff happy and motivated. In return, employees reward you with greater efficiency, productivity, and a genuine concern for your company’s prosperity.
Would you like to read more great content on running an employee rewards program? Please keep visiting our blog.