It’s 2022 and we are still in the middle of a pandemic, which means that many industries are dealing with huge skills shortages.
The workplace and the workforce have changed, and this is possibly irreversible. There is so much more variety in the job market today than there ever has been and more diversity in the ways in which we are allowed to work. The success of your business is going to rely on the fact that you need to adapt with these changes and continue to include your employees in the conversation. If you would like to introduce a home hybrid learning structure to your business, it is something that you would do with the input of your current employees rather than just doing it willy-nilly.
Due to the skill shortages, there are more employees looking for jobs than ever before, however in some industries this is not the case. In other industries such as technology and IT, there are more jobs than there are people. This has led to many employers reevaluating what benefits they are offering their staff. If you want to offer your staff a reason to stay and you want to offer new and potential employees a reason to come on board, then you need to have a look at these 10 perks that your employees would love.
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- Professional development. This is actually on the top of the list for most employees when they are seeking employment. If they can work for a company who is willing to teach them, even if that means providing an online maths and physics tutor so that they can level up in the current scientific role, that is something that you should be looking into. Employees are always looking for ways to improve and while you may provide professional development and training to employees who eventually leave, it’s the best way that you’re investing your own business in the first instance. When you train people as they’re working for you, they can do their jobs better.
- Unlimited time off. While there are so many businesses that still offer the four weeks of standard annual leave, many businesses are seeing success by offering an unlimited time off model. Now, contrary to popular belief, employees aren’t taking advantage of this and booking actual unlimited time off! Instead, they don’t feel the pressure that they can’t ask for time off if they need it for whatever reason. Whether it’s a death in the family, they are ill and they would like to use more leave than they are entitled to, or they simply need a break, you will find the employees respect this rule.
- Health and well-being support. This is not the same as health benefits, such as extra insurance. There are a number of times that mental well-being will be important in your workforce, and whether they are in the office or working from home it’s good to know they have an employer who cares if their mental health is dipping. If you provide therapy sessions or mental health and well-being support to your employees they will regard you highly.
- Weekly lunches. It’s a low-cost option depending on your tastes, but if you employ a catering company to provide your business for Friday lunches, you’re going to have employees that are happy to be going into the weekend. The week often ends on a high because everyone is looking forward to a couple of days of break to spend time with their families and do the usual routines at home. By providing lunch every week, you’ll be able to bond everybody together and sort of give them a lowdown on the week and see how things have been.
- Free drinks. We don’t necessarily mean alcoholic drinks but if you can provide a vending machine for free in the office, you’ll be able to give everybody a little break through the day. Let’s be honest, tea, coffee and water does get a little boring, so if you’re the kind of employer who wants to do more for employees, stock the fridge with a range of juices smoothies and fizzy pop drinks
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- Personal leave for your birthday. This is such a tiny touch, but it’s a part that people love. Nobody wants to work on their birthday, and it won’t break the bank, and you could offer this time off as paid. It’s a nice day, it’s a nice thing to do and your employees will thank you for it.
- Events. Offering your staff vouchers or tickets to cinema events, concert events and even using them as an incentive to hit goals, will help people come together. Remember, some of these perks have to help them outside work and not just encourage them to work. People are giving you eight hours of the day every day five days a week, and yes you do pay them a salary, but there’s got to be more to it than that.
- Cycle to work schemes. Cycle to work schemes are often offered as a salary sacrifice option, because the cost of purchasing a bike and equipment can set your company back a little amount. However, you can make it easy if your employees cycle to work by just starting with supplying the bike maintenance station at the workplace. Lots of staff are looking at ways to be greener in the commute, so if you can help them with that you’ll be highly regarded.
- Local discounts. If you want to do more for the local area, you need to be able to offer some money into it. Everyone enjoys going out for food, and it’s something that your employees are most likely doing anyway! You can make it cheaper by offering discounts for the local businesses, and that will help them to stretch the salaries a little.
- Early finish perks. Best possible perk you could ever give somebody is time off, so if you make it that Fridays are the days that you finish early but also Monday is too, you will have happy and motivated staff who want to come to work.
