The 8 Best Employee Benefits

Not all candidates consider a job or an organization based solely on the salary, especially when the salary is the market rate. To differentiate your company, putting together a competitive benefits package could help you attract a higher caliber of candidates, particularly those who are looking for a long-term career rather than a job that will solely boost their immediate earnings.

Different organizations offer various benefits packages and expectedly, difference candidates will be attracted to different things, but here are 8 suggestions of what you could include:

A good work/life balance is increasingly becoming one of the most important aspects of peoples’ job searches. Offering flexi-time around a set of core hours or work from home days can boost an employee’s motivation and is a great attraction for candidates. 

Increased vacation days are a desirable quality in a benefits package. Some companies even offer unlimited vacation days! You can increase this amount by allowing employees to "win" or earn extra days dependent upon their accomplishments. 

Consider offering gym memberships to employees at a discounted rate, free, or paid for using pre-tax dollars to help foster a healthy, stress-free work environment. It will demonstrate that your company cares about its employees' health. 

Charity days are a great way to show your employees that your company cares. Consider allowing every employee at least one paid day off a year to do charitable work. In some cases, organizations match the employee contributions. 

Offering learning opportunities demonstrates your company is willing to invest in an employee’s future and foster their growth and progress in your organization. Utilize external training centers or keep everything in-house, for example creating a mentoring program. 

If you’re in the unique position to be able to offer childcare facilities to working parents, this could be an extremely popular perk. Otherwise, you can offer childcare voucher schemes, which can alleviate the cost of employees’ childcare costs. 

Providing free drinks on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning breakfast, to allowing every employee to take their birthday off can boost morale and increase productivity. Small gestures like these can show employees how much you appreciate them. 

If you’re in the position to be able to offer all of the above benefits plus others, consider letting each employee pick and choose which they would most like as part of their package. You can offer benefits on a salary sacrifice system, meaning if the employee doesn’t choose to take part, the cash equivalent remains part of their salary. 

During the interview try to get a feel for what motivates the individual, ensuring that they’re aware of the various employee benefits available.