How to Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them

31 May

Of course we all want to get the top talent working for us (or more importantly YOU!), and in the current market it has never been more important to spend some time on what you’re offering to snare those big fish!

An attractive employee benefits package can play a huge role in the growth and success of your business. Basically, the more you reward the hard work carried out by your employees, the longer they’ll tend to stick around. It's a great way to keep and attract all those super duper candidates – and that’s an essential ingredient to your business success.

To hit you with a little stat, did you know that only 41% of UK workers feel satisfied with their benefits? We’re afraid to be the ones to tell you that long gone are the days where onsite car parking, bean bags and free tea and coffee are considered a ‘perk’. It really is time to get to know what your employees need to feel appreciated.

But it’s not all doom and gloom – the great news is there are so many ways that you can ensure your employees feel rewarded for their hard work. The hard part is deciding which benefits to choose from. So, we know what your next question will be – how do you know which benefits will make the desired impact on your staff and – ultimately – on your business?

Well, the Streetwise team are on-hand and well-versed on the wants and needs of employees, and better than that they can work with you to ensure that it doesn’t break the bank or your sanity! From benefits that can cut the cost of a cinema ticket in half to pension schemes that’ll give your employees the confidence that you care about their future, we’ll walk you through picking the perfect perk package for both you and your employees.

Firstly, what exactly is an employee benefit?

There are lots of things that can be classed as a benefit – job flexibility, reward and recognition schemes, gym memberships, staff parties, discounts at certain stores, a fantastic pension scheme, enhanced maternity and paternity support – the list goes on.

What are the types of employee benefits?

Findings from a reward management survey from CIPD indicate that the most popular benefits offered by UK employers fall under the following categories:

Pensions

We hope you already know this but in the UK employees must automatically enrol their employees onto a pension scheme. The world of pensions is often a tricky one to navigate, and we can help to liaise with your provider and your employees to implement an enhanced pension scheme.

Annual leave and time off work

Another UK legal requirement is for employers to offer certain levels of paid annual holiday, with many businesses choosing to offer more than the statutory minimum amount. Some businesses choose to increase their holiday offering in line with years of service – a nice touch to reward employees that stick with you!

Businesses also opt to provide their staff with paid time off for other occurrences such as volunteering, school events and on their birthday. These days, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is such a huge part of building a public image for your business – whether it’s a seaside litter pick or dropping into schools to help kids learn to read.

Statutory entitlements for time off work include maternity, paternity and family bereavement. Some employers offer enhanced maternity and paternity benefits, which include full or half pay over a longer period!

Healthcare

Lots of businesses also look at how they can support their employees with their mental health – whether it’s having a trained mental health first aider in the office or investing in the support of remote mental health services.

Company cars and car allowances

Clearly this is only going to be relevant to those whose roles involve business travel, but we are seeing it more often on the radar – maybe the cost of fuel has something to do with it!? You may want to offer company cars to individuals or operate a pool or fleet system for employees to share vehicles, which as an added business benefit may be a little greener for the environment. Alternatively, you can offer an allowance to help with an employee’s car purchase or to compensate for the mileage from their own vehicles.

Other ad-hoc benefits

There are other notable benefits that could be of interest, such as:

Unlimited holiday
A four day working week as standard
Staff parties
Free or subsidised staff canteens
High street discounts

While unlimited holiday is a debate in itself (many businesses that offer unlimited holiday find their staff actually take less holiday over the year – mad!), benefits like staff parties, subsidised food, and moving to a standard four day working week have proven to help boost morale and productivity.

There are a whole host of membership platforms which give businesses an easy way to reward employees. Employees can collect points, cut the cost of their cinema trip in half and even save on things like plane tickets and hotel rooms.

Why do employee benefits matter?

There are a whole host of reasons why employee benefits will matter to your organisation. These include:

Attracting new talent

A lucrative employee benefits package on top of a base salary can help lure new employees to your organisation.

Potential new employees may also like to see other non-wage benefits such as flexible working, good work/life balance and career advancement prospects.

Retaining talent

Appealing employee benefits can also work to keep your current staff engaged and happy. These can take the form of less quantifiable benefits like fitness classes at work and volunteering days.

Rewarding talent to help the business and employee grow

Offering employees (non-wage related) rewards and recognition for their hard work can look to help them with their own career goals. This in turn can boost their productivity and help the business grow.

How do I choose the right employee benefits for my organisation?

Here at Streetwise, we are always on hand to answer these types of questions. But to start, we suggest the following tips to help pick the right employee benefits for your company.

1 – Start with a clear vision

You should have a clear understanding on why you want to incorporate a benefits programme for your employees. For example, are you looking to quickly attract new talent to help with company growth? Or are you looking for ways to keep your staff from being poached by crafty competitors? Is it feedback from a recent employee survey or suggestion box?

2 – Determine which benefits and the costs associated

Once you’ve figured out the reasons why you want a benefits programme, you should then look to figure out which employee benefits you’d like to offer, along with the cost implications of course.

Trust Streetwise HR for your business’ HR services

At Streetwise HR we have a wide range of HR services tailored to your business’ specific needs.

Along with employee benefits guidance, we offer HR advice and strategy to help assist with your recruitment and growth planning.

Ella Rance