Excellent staff benefits are more likely to attract and retain employees

One of the top attractions a company can offer when recruiting high-quality staff is a system of employee benefits that will be hard to surpass. A OnePoll survey, conducted by Laudale, revealed that candidates looking for a new job were attracted by the staff benefits.

In the survey of 1,000 UK candidates, 67.1% of respondents said they looked at the benefits before applying. This was the third top attraction behind salary and location. Some companies use benefits as a tool to attract high-quality staff, offering bonuses, unlimited sickness leave, healthcare facilities and free childcare, for example, as part of the package.

Healthcare

Some companies offer private healthcare for employees, including dental and optical care. With studies saying that 66% of employees are more likely to stay with an employer that provides good benefits, it’s beneficial to the company to take this seriously.

Staff appreciate that a benefit package will help plan for retirement and old age and also unexpected events, such as falling ill, or getting injured, while also saving them money on day-to-day expenses too, particularly in the case of dental and optical care. A relevant and well-structured benefits package will help employers to get the pick of candidates when recruiting.

The benefits can be tailored to individual groups of employees, as not everyone will need the same ones. For example, different family situations and age-groups can require different benefits. An employer must consider the demographics of their employees.

Pensions

A popular benefit is a good pension scheme, enabling employees to set aside some of their income for their retirement. There are various types of pension, such as “defined contribution” schemes, whereby the employee and the employer both put money into the pension account every year. When the employee reaches retirement age, the value of his or her pension depends on what they’ve contributed.

There’s also a “defined benefit pension” that isn’t as common, but still relevant. When the employee retires, he or she receives a sum based on calculations using a formula, with criteria such as how long they’ve worked at the company and the amount of their final salary.

Income protection

Another benefit often offered is income protection. This pays a set percentage of the employee’s wage to them each month if they become unable to work through a serious, long-term illness or an injury. Typically, they are paid 60-80% of their regular wage through the scheme.

Similarly, critical illness insurance offers an employee a tax-free lump sum should they be diagnosed with a serious medical condition. The conditions covered are specific and will be listed by the insurance company handling the policy.

Other benefits

Some companies offer shares schemes, whereby employees are given free shares when they join the company. In other cases, when an employee buys shares, the company will match them like for like, so that the employee receives double the number of company shares for his or her money.

Some employers offer a car allowance. In some cases, an employee will receive an extra payment that will allow them to purchase a car for business use. In others, employees are given a mileage allowance for every journey they undertake on company business.

It’s down to the individual business how many and what types of benefits they offer employees, but in today’s competitive market, it’s worth remembering that those who offer better perks are likely to attract a higher quality of staff.