An employer of choice is a company that’s a great place to work, with a work culture and environment that attracts and retains employees. Recruiting and retaining top talent means meeting your employees’ needs, whether by offering meaningful work, flexible schedules, learning and development opportunities, competitive salaries and more.
Many studies on employee attraction and retention rank compensation and benefits as the top reasons employees stay with a company. A Glassdoor survey found that nearly four in five employees “would prefer new or additional benefits to a pay increase.”
Benefits are a pivotal way for your company to be recognized as an employer of choice. But how do you actually use benefits to attract and retain talent? Here are three suggestions:
1. Offer choices
In 2016, millennials became the largest generation in the U.S. workforce. With Generation Z entering the workforce and many older workers delaying retirement, employers must adapt to the needs of different working generations.
The following list —based on research by the Society for Human Resource Management — provides a general idea of which benefits are most important to employees today:
- Health care benefits
- Retirement savings plan
- Leave benefits
- Flexible working benefits
- Professional and career development benefits
- Wellness and preventive care health benefits
- Financial benefits
- Family-friendly benefits
2. Transform the benefits experience
Employees today are tech-savvy, self-reliant and demand convenience. When job hunting, they expect a great candidate experience that delivers easy access to information about the company, job and application process. During onboarding and throughout their employment life cycle, they want that same satisfying experience.
An employer of choice enhances the benefits experience through technology. At the very least, the solution should deliver mobile access, allow employees to enroll in and make changes to their benefits via self-service options, and let employees track their benefits.
3. Provide training and guidance
An employer of choice knows that a shifting benefits landscape can make it difficult for employees to keep up-to-date. Make sure you help employees understand the choices available to them.
Boost your benefits offerings to employees and your company will truly be an employer of choice.
Copyright 2019
