Roughly one-third of worker pay comes from employee benefits. This incentive helps to bring staff on board and fuels performance growth. The best strategies and approaches will depend on your organization and team. In today’s economy, where employees hold the negotiation strength, employers are boosting benefits to attract new staff.
For now, we at Bethany Insurance will go over 10 employee benefits trends that work.
1. Offset Rising Healthcare Costs
Group health insurance is a profitable investment for bigger organizations. Everyone gains from the wholesale rate that comes with paying for so many policies. Your staff gets better coverage plans, which are not paid for with taxable income. Meanwhile, these insurance premiums are tax-deductible for the employer.
Healthcare costs will rise by as much as five percent through 2025, which makes now the perfect time to promote health-related incentives.
2. Implement Mental Health Breaks and Support
Mental health awareness is overtaking society. Many employers are pushing mental health breaks and seeing performance go up. The Data-Driven Case for Vacation by the Harvard Business Review does a great job to outline the correlation. Ultimately, those who give themselves breaks are more successful. These people are more likely to receive pay raises and performance-related bonuses.
3. Support Physical Wellbeing
Working out and eating healthy both do wonders for workplace productivity. Some approaches that work include:
- Gym membership or bonus toward exercise equipment,
- Alternative fitness centers (e.g. rock climbing),
- Fitbit, or similar device, as a bonus or gift,
- Footwear discounts or freebies, and
- Nutrition app subscriptions.
4. Create Stipends for Home Office Expenses
Many larger tech companies are offering incentives for employees to work from home. You can do the same by compensating workers that work remotely. A one-time lump sum award of $500 to $1,000 will suffice. Conditional compensation for future years is also worthy of consideration.
5. Start a Yearly Team Vacation Fund
Arrange for a yearly trip to somewhere special for something cool. Give your workers the chance to feel like a team. Pool aside a vacation fund that you access once a year. People have vacations all summer long. When Christmas is over, try ringing in the new year with a surprise vacation. Spread this out into smaller monthly trips and watch as worker morale goes up.
6. Bridge the Gap in Telehealth
Telehealth is becoming the next big thing. This innovative benefit option is receiving extensive attention from employers. Telehealth is a complex area and you want to offer benefits that cater to your entire workforce. Focus on private virtual appointments and a 24/7 support line.
7. Add a Voluntary Benefit of Pet Insurance
Pet ownership is at an all-time high and no owner is truly ready for big vet bills. Pet insurance is the perfect choice for a benefits package, and one of the employee benefits trends that are becoming more popular. Many pet owners have not made the cross yet, which means it is an added value for your pet-owning employees. This benefit should be voluntary, as it does not affect everyone equally.
8. Retain Employees Through Finacial Planning
Many employees leave or mentally quit their job when they face financial struggles at home. Financial planning with an advisor, budgeting classes, and app subscriptions are all valuable investments to make. To help older workers, build a financial plan and budget to follow in the lead-up to their retirement.
Educate yourself on how student loan repayment plans can benefit your workforce. Until 2025, employers can top up student loan repayments for employees without bringing up gross income levels. Learn more about this rule change to see how it affects your employee benefits.
9. Allow Shorter Work Weeks
Many businesses are switching from a five-day workweek to only four days. This transition, while difficult, is showing potential. One Forbes reporter claims The Future of Work Will Be Five-Hour Days, a Four-Day Workweek and Flexible Staggered Schedules.
This ideal world is not just a dream or fairy tale. Employers are benefiting while incentivizing workers, which makes everyone a winner. Your company does not need to embrace the four-day workweek to make a difference. For example, an increase in work presence is noticeable in businesses that offer schedule flexibility with unlimited paid time off.
10. Prepare Employees for Retirement
Today’s employment situation differs greatly from 10 years ago. Many employees are switching jobs late in their life. Your goal is to keep these workers. Benefits that help prepare employees for retirement can help you succeed. Read Employment to Retirement on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to better understand what these employees are going through.
Final Thoughts
Most employees view benefits as part of their pay. A job that offers extensive benefits might hold more value than a high salary, so these employee benefits trends aren’t something to be overlooked. Business benefits and insurance incentives are all very confusing areas to navigate. But, group life insurance and health insurance plans are a great start toward saving with employee benefits.
Get a quote and see what coverage costs for your crew.
